Blueprint To Bliss
by Salamander B. Hat
Summary: "Once there was an innocent, totally normal girl named Aden who ran into a group of rich, crazy, mean, totally NOT normal, wacko-" "Ignore her, that's not really how it-" "Go away Kyoya, I'm the main character, I can do the summery by myself!" "Hardly..."
1. Karma Hates Me

**The longer summery as told by the ... heroine? (And apparently Kyoya):** "Once there was an innocent, totally normal girl named Aden who ran into a group of rich, crazy, mean, totally NOT normal, wacko-" "Ignore her, that's not really how it-" "Go away Kyoya, I'm the main character, I can do the summery by myself!" "Hardly..." "Ahem, so Aden was normal ... oh wait, I already said that didn't I? That stupid jerk messed me up! Anyway, so she meets this random bunch of guys ... _completely_ on purpose of course." "Correction; after breaking something, she get's herself stuck in a closet." "Would you leave already? I have to explain this to the readers!" "You're not doing a very good job." "Don't listen to him. So then a bunch of other not important stuff happens and the Host club ruins her life-" "Okay, this description is entirely inaccurate." "STOP INTERRUPTING ME!" "Basically she get's herself in a bad situation-" "BE QUIET!" "-and we end up having to babysit a temperamental moron. Then the author thought it would be a good idea to develop a very odd relationship between the two of us. Personally I think it's a terrible idea." "First of all, nobody asked for your opinion! Second of all, this isn't working, so if you _really_ must know, then you'll just have to read the damn story." "Or you could spare yourself and go find something else to read." "SHUT-UP!"

**Rated T:** For language, possible violence, etc.

**Written For:** My personal amusement. I'm not trying to impress anyone seeing as my fan fiction writing skills aren't particularly impressive. You can't get better until you try right?

**Genre:** A wide variety. I expect it will be whatever it turns out to be. I want to make it into a decent Kyoya x OC fic.

* * *

**SBH:** So I was watching OHSHC for the second time, yes? And about halfway through I started getting the itch to write a fanfic and so low and behold...I did. Of course, this was before I'd taken a look at this particular section of the site and stupidly thought to myself, "Yay, I'm original!" However, if you even get a tiny glimpse of the first page in OHSHC stories, you'll see that OC stories are indeed _not_ original. In fact, they're about as common as trees in the forest. So my originality feels a little raped. But that's okay, because I don't particularly care. I didn't plan to put it on here, it was just for fun, yet I decided to do it anyway just for the hell of it. Thus we get this story. Hopefully I can stray from the pack and make something a little more creative. Annnnd I'll shut up now because I don't think you care. c:

**Disclaimer:** Salamander B. Hat doesn't own any part of OHSHC save for my original character(s). But I do own a fat cat, an aging computer and a ton of useless junk.

* * *

**Chapter One**

KARMA HATES ME

_(In which closets and decorative items enforce mandatory school attendance through unusual cruelty ... and the story starts ... sorta.)_

One day, that was it. Just a few measly hours to be spent acting, as she imagined, like they thought she should. Polite, tranquil and perfectly mannered for the time being, not a toe out of place. It's what she'd so reluctantly promised her father as he'd faced her with such desperate pleads, praying that the girl would pay heed to his wishes for once. One day in school was all he'd asked of Aden Eluekhart.

Unfortunately he was going to get the short end of the deal.

"Excuse me, sir!"

Turning, it took the busy teacher only seconds to notice the frantically waving hand at the back of the class room.

"Yes Miss...er, Miss Eluekhart was it?"

The girl nodded. "Could I please be excused for the bathroom?" She replied quickly, arm lowering.

Glancing at his watch, he sighed when he realized how little class time they had left. "There's only ten minutes left of class, can't you wait that long...?"

Aden answered with a vigorous shake of her head. Well in her defense she was looking mighty fidgety. By now a couple of others had raised there heads away from their work to watch the new student.

Attention returning to the paperwork on his desk, the teacher motioned toward the door. "Very well then, your excused."

Without wasting a moments time, the girl stood and gathered her materials up before stuffing them unceremoniously into her pack. Finished, she took hold of her belongings, slung the bag over her shoulder and began striding towards the exit.

In her haste however, Aden accidentally bumped into someone's desk. "Uh...sorry," She muttered.

Interrupted by the movement, Haruhi blinked, but before she could say anything, the Eluekhart girl had gone, already out the door. It was odd to see someone evacuate a classroom that quickly, perhaps she was feeling sick? _"I hope she's alright..."_ Haruhi mused quietly. She was new to the place after-all, hopefully she would find the room she was looking for. Knowing it wasn't that big a deal, she simply shrugged and went back to writing.

...

Truthfully, Aden wasn't sick, nor did she feel the need to take care of business. But the moment she'd escaped the class room she could already feel some of the tension leave her. Finally, freedom at last! Half jogging down Ouran's pristine halls, she read the signs as they passed.

"_Restroom. Restroom. Restroom...there!"_

Spotting the label, she stopped in front of the fancy door and pushed it open. It was a relief to know she wouldn't be making circles around the place, lucky they'd decided to make it quite obvious really, her sense of direction wasn't really a strong point.

Upon entrance she found herself to be completely alone. That was good, the last thing she wanted to do at the moment was draw attention to herself.

Walking to the nearest mirror, Aden dropped her school bag onto the marbled cupboard and began to rifle through the contents. Moments later she was yanking out a bundle of clothing, the articles cramped together and wrinkled from their position at the bottom.

Holding them under her arm, she walked to the nearest stall and locked herself in. It was unbelievable clean, but Aden could only be thankful she had enough space to move.

Looking around, she found an appropriate spot for her armful of clothes and set them down. Satisfied, she began the difficult venture of removing her uniform, scowling and muttering as she did so. It may have been larger then the average bathroom, but it still didn't mean a stall was the most comfortable of places to change.

"Stupid dress...why would anybody want to wear these things?" She hissed, struggling to get the yellow monstrosity over her head. Ridding herself of it, she tore off the nice shoes and snatched a shirt from the dark pile.

Changing into her new clothes much faster then it took to take off the expensive uniform, Aden stumbled out of the stall dressed drastically different from when she'd entered. Folding the rumpled dress, she stepped back to look at her reflection, now baring a wide smile.

"Much better!"

Instead of the issued uniform, she now wore a baggy looking pair of khaki pants, a simple white tee, and a short sleeved gray sweatshirt, expensive shoes replaced with a rugged pair of sneakers. The only costly looking thing left was a silver necklace to which she simply hid beneath her shirt for safe keeping.

Still not quite finished, Aden reached a hand up to remove the clamp from her hair formally holding it into a delicate bun. Released, the sandy blond mess fell down her back, grown to a length a little bit beyond her shoulders. Taking a second to massage her scalp, she took a band from her bag and collected the majority of her hair into her hands before pulling it back up into a loose ponytail.

Brushing bangs from her eyes, she found the sink faucet and proceeded to clean away the small amount of make up the maids had insisted she wear that day. Scrubbing away at her cheeks, she only decided to stop when she was sure there was no trace of it left.

In to much of a hurry to find a towel, Aden dried her face with her sleeve. Straightening, she stared into the mirror, bold green eyes gazing back at her. Though her skin now looked quite red from her persistence, she'd succeeded in the task.

Pleased, and much more comfortable, the girl let her shoulders slacken. So far everything was moving along well, she just had one more thing to do.

Get out of there.

Aden snorted. Ouran was exactly like all the other schools she'd been to, and lord knows she'd seen plenty in her lifetime. It didn't matter how well known it was claimed to be. Big, over rated, and filled with snobby rich kids who's mouths moved faster then motors. They were all the same, and if her step mother wasn't so set on dumping her into a private academy, then perhaps she'd consider staying put.

Until then she'd continue to exercise her ability to skip, school was already a nuisance back when she'd gone to the public kind, but now it was just unbearable. She'd already managed to get kicked out of all the others one way or another, this one wouldn't be any different.

The only regret she had came from the disappointment she'd earn from her father. True she felt a little guilty about breaking the promise she'd made the previous night, but there was no way that she was going to be staying here. Not when she knew she had better things to do.

Forcing the shoes and uniform into the bag really wasn't as easy as Aden wished it would be, even so eventually she managed to fit it in.

Securing the strap over her shoulder, Aden's head tipped back to study the clock on the wall. She only had two minutes to get out before everyone would be headed to eat there lunch, and they'd know for sure she was up to something if they spotted her as she was.

Shuffling to the doorway, she peered out, scanning the hallway for any signs of life. Empty.

Knowing time was precious, she began her journey with a quick pace, quiet and alert. The easiest route was obviously through the front doors, however there was no doubt in her mind that she'd be caught if she tried. She needed a different way out, one where she wouldn't be seen so easily. There had to be an alternative, schools always had more then one exit.

Aware of the seconds ticking by, Aden moved frantically, zipping around corners and past windows. Things would have been a lot easier if she could have just faked being sick, but her father wouldn't believe it anyway not to mention the fact that she had terrible acting skills. Seeing as she was currently on the top floor, she needed to find a stairway, from there she was positive she could locate a door to the outside.

There! To her left Aden could see them, the wide flight of stairs practically welcoming her down with open arms.

Half running, she'd just put the tip of her shoe on the first step when something made her halt. It was the sound of foot steps, the source coming straight from the place she'd marked as her destination.

Startled, she turned around and bolted in the opposite direction.

The first chance she'd gotten at escape ruined, Aden fumed knowing that her tiny window of opportunity was growing even smaller.

"_Damn! Now what?"_

Stopping at the halls end, she jumped when she picked up another noise. This time it was the sound of many voices. Class had ended, someone was going to see her for sure.

Panicked, Aden dove to the nearest door yanking hard on the handle. It was locked. So naturally she tried the next two, both of which were closed tight as well. Running out of options, she scrambled toward the last set of doors. In such a hurry she didn't bother reading the sign hanging above it, the one that read "Music Room #3" Holding her breath, Aden reached out to push on them. To her utter astonishment they swung open. Unwilling to wonder why at the moment, she carefully slipped through and swiftly shut the doors behind her.

Once inside, she slumped against the smooth wood, eyes closing as she tried to catch her breath. That was close, too close.

Relaxing, she opened her eyes again, curious as to what she would find.

The room was dark, the lights turned off and the shades drawn tight over most of the windows. Everything seemed still, the silence only broken by the girls unsteady breathing. Even if she didn't know exactly where she was, she was happy to find she hadn't ended up in some teachers office. In fact, she was pretty sure she was alone.

Knowing she couldn't go back the way she'd come, Aden picked herself up again and walked toward the nearest window. Pulling back on the curtain, she looked down irritated to find that there would be no jumping out unless she wanted to break every bone in her body.

"I guess I'm stuck in here..." She murmured, returning the curtain back to it's original position.

Well this defiantly wasn't what she'd had in mind at all.

Assuming she'd probably be staying there for a while, Aden did a quick sweep of the area. Immediately setting eyes upon a group of plush furniture, she headed toward the shadowy shapes. Might as well sit down, nobody was going to stop her anyway.

No longer wishing to carry her lumpy bag around, she deposited it on the nearest end table and went to settle herself in. She was just a few paces away from the couch when out of nowhere she felt her foot collide with something hard.

**CRAAAASSHHHH!**

Startled by the ear splitting noise, Aden tripped over the unseen object and plummeted toward the ground, the rest of whatever she'd hit coming down with her. Completely taken off guard, she didn't have time to catch herself and ended up meeting the tile with a loud "OOAF!" The sounds of shattering delicates following not a second after.

When she finally recovered from the shock, Aden found herself sprawled out on the floor, head exploding with new found pain.

"Owww..."

Carefully she reached up to touch the tender spot on the back of her head only to discover a large bump making it's self at home. The rest of her body wasn't feeling to grand either.

Thoroughly annoyed, Aden sat up. Next to her lay a small over turned table, the culprit to her extravagant spill. And beside that...

"Oh no, oh no no no no no!"

Struggling to her knees, Aden swallowed with difficulty. Everywhere she turned she could see bits of fine china, the colorful decor smashed into what looked to be about a billion little pieces. She wasn't completely certain, but she thought it may have been a tea set.

Groaning, she brought the palm of her hand to her forehead, disbelieving in her horrible luck.

This was turning into a terrible day fast.

Halfheartedly Aden grabbed two random pieces and tried to fit them together. As if that was going to work.

Throwing them back down again, she leaned against one of the chairs with an exasperated sigh. Her family may have had the money to pay for the damage, but that meant she would be explaining to them what she'd been doing in the first place. It wouldn't be a fun experience that was for sure. In any case, nobody had seen her break it, there was no solid proof. She'd planned to make her escape before a single soul knew she'd even stepped foot in the area. Worrying about it would just be a waste of time.

Grabbing the chair arm for support, Aden lifted herself up. Apart from the place were she'd smacked her head, she seemed to be perfectly fine.

Brushing a few of the stray chips from her shirt. she rubbed her neck thoughtfully. Perhaps if she cleaned it up, nobody would notice? It was a shallow hope, but nothing else came to mind.

And so Aden set off to find something to aid her, wincing at the sound of muffled crunching under foot.

After a while, she was surprised to find that the room was actually a lot bigger and grander then she'd originally thought, which hopefully meant there had to be a broom somewhere in the general vicinity. However this time as she navigated her way through the dark she became overly cautious about where she put her feet. There was no need to repeat the incident.

The obvious thing to do was search for a closet, so moving closer to the wall, she began the search for yet another door. She seemed to be looking for them a lot lately.

"Ah ha!"

Spotting it behind a jumble of various other things, Aden pricked her way over to the other side of the room. Managing to reach it without any further conflict with other objects, she had to push away a large flowery plant that had been blocking the entrance before she could find the door knob.

Opening it, she was greeted with a yawning hole of inky black, not a single light to penetrate the darkness. Frowning, she reached in a hand to search the wall for a switch. Nothing.

"_What kind of closet doesn't have lights?" _Aden thought sourly. It probably did have some kind of light source, but at the moment she stood completely oblivious to it. Then again, the people here did seem to have an uncanny ability to leave their messes to others, she shouldn't have been surprised the storage facility was practically untouched. Oh well, a broom couldn't be that hard to find in the dark could it?

Swinging the door open wider, she walked inside with her hands held out in front, feeling around for anything that could be considered a handle. Honestly she felt ridiculous, but as her fingers brushed over a few box's, she knew at least that she'd been right about it being a closet. What a delightful surprise it would have been if she discovered it was actually a pet crematory or something. Er...not that she thought they did things like that at Ouran or anything, but one could never be to certain, not when your school was this big. Now if only she could find what she was searching for. Venturing deeper inside, Aden stepped over more things in the process.

It was as she was reaching out to grab something that felt familiarly a little like a broom stick when she noticed the meager light she had diminishing. Confused, she glanced over her shoulder only to cry out in alarm.

The door was beginning to close it's self, the crack between Aden and the main room shrinking fast.

Forgetting all about her original purpose, the girl made a wild lunge forward knocking over quite a few things in the process. Legs tangling in a random wad of fabric that seemed to appear out of nowhere, Aden's arms waved about frantically in a pathetic attempt to stop the door, but she was already tumbling head over heels.

_Click._

She landed heavily upon her stomach right about the same time the place was plunged into total darkness. As if to complete the ritual, she heard the sickening sound of a whole shelf come loose, politely emptying it's contents square on her head.

Letting out a string of curses, Aden hit the ground with a balled fist, recoiling in response to the pain. Was everything in this stupid place out to get her?

Shoving various things off of her back, she struggled to stand, kicking out at the stuff encasing her feet. Freeing herself at last, she stumbled to the door and roughly twisted the knob.

Naturally it was locked.

"Shit..."

* * *

**Ahhh yes, poor Aden seems to have been defeated by the school. Doesn't that just suck? Oh well, characters must make sacrifices for the sake of drama ... that and schools are just plain evil. Seriously.  
**

**Review, don't review, I won't beg for attention. But they are very nice to see.**

**CHARACTER COMMENTARY ... THING**

**Kyoya: **See, what did I tell you? She's stuck.**  
Aden: **You know what, I've changed my mind, I think you SHOULDN'T read this story. It doesn't present my character very well.**  
Kyoya: **I think it sums you up perfectly.**  
Aden: **HEY! That situation could happen to anybody, I was obviously just having an off day.**  
Kyoya: **Right, you keep telling yourself that.**  
Aden: **Well _maybe_ if you didn't leave your stuff out for people to trip on, this wouldn't have happened.**  
Kyoya: **OR, maybe if you'd just stayed in class like a normal student and did what you were suppose to, _then_ this wouldn't have happened.**  
SBH: **He actually has a good point there.**  
Aden: **... No comment.**  
**


	2. Not So Friendly Encounters

******Here's chapter two right away, I already had it written. So that's it, on with the story I suppose.**

* * *

**Chapter Two**

NOT SO FRIENDLY ENCOUNTERS

_(Where the host's meet the closet ... and it's prisoner, the angry girl thing.)_

Kyoya Ootori was a guy prepared for a lot of things. It was a trait, he would say, almost necessary to anybody willing to associate themselves with the host club. Simply spending time with Tamaki was enough to toughen any soul to the unexpected, thus he'd learned to take whatever was thrown at him with both dignity and force. Even so, it was surprising how much he could predict within these walls. There were actually very few things he found could catch him off guard. Very few things indeed.

Except maybe this once.

As he proceeded to enter the music room, he was viciously attacked by something he could only guess to be the Host club's over-dramatic president...or a very large dog. But he was going with the former.

Unable to withstand the wall like blur, his infamous black notebook slipped from his left hand to shoot backwards. The laptop as well would have been subject to the same fate had he not been gripping it so hard.

Catching himself before he too became a bowling pin, Kyoya felt a pull at his neck, the front of his shirt clutched between the hands of the clueless blond. Glasses askew, he was met with wide eyes and Tamaki's horror masked face. Honestly he wasn't sure if the boy was planning to burst into tears or just stare at him like he'd seen a ghost.

"Kyoya it's terrible!"He cried giving him a little shake as if to emphasize his words, "It's horrible! We've got to do something! I will not stand for this, we must hunt them down by all means before it's to late! The nerve...the Host club will not accept this! As president I demand we-"

"Tamaki."

"...call in the special forces. Show them we mean business! We will stand and-"

"Tamaki!"

"...fight this together! There will be no backing down from this challenge, there will be-"

"TAMAKI!"

All at once Tamaki shut up. Seeing as he'd finally gotten his attention, Kyoya cleared his throat dangerously, irritation radiating in waves. "If you'd kindly let go of me, I'd very much appreciate it." He snapped, body rigid.

Tamaki blinked, and as if just suddenly realizing who it was he was holding, he let his fingers slip away and jumped back all in one swift movement. "Whoops...s-sorry Kyoya." He laughed nervously.

Recovering quickly, Kyoya planted both feet firmly on the ground and reached up a hand to adjust his glasses back to the preferred position. Smoothing out his uniform, he located his notebook and went to retrieve it in the eerie silence. Precious possession in hand once more, he turned to address both Tamaki and what he guessed would be the rest of the Host club.

"Now, will someone please inform me as to what's going on?" He spoke coolly, daring anyone to do otherwise.

From what he could see, there wasn't anything to be alarmed about. As he'd predicted, every person stood accounted for, though they'd chosen to stand a safe distance away.

Haruhi looked rather perplexed and frustrated, although most of it seemed to be directed at their leader. Honey, with his arms tight around his beloved rabbit, appeared almost worried, Mori standing behind him with the usual blank expression. It was only the twins who looked as if they knew something, both red haired brothers quietly hiding snickers behind covered mouths.

Directing his attention back to his attacker, Kyoya watched him expectantly, "Well?"

Tamaki's lower lip trembled, "Oh...well it's...it's just that...it's that...someone's trying to destroy the Host club!" He bellowed woefully.

In the silence that followed, Kyoya had to fight the urge to roll his eyes, the smallest of sighs escaping his mouth. Why couldn't he have just stayed home today?

"And what exactly brings you to that conclusion?" He replied, walking past the group with his things secured in his grasp. Setting them down with care, he faced the hosts once more, waiting impatiently to hear the reasoning behind such a ridiculous claim.

Haruhi opened her mouth to say something but Tamaki beat her to the punch.

"We've proof!" He stated boldly, "I'll show you."

Raising one brow, Kyoya grudgingly followed his friend, the other five trailing after them obviously having seen already. Without a word, Tamaki led them toward the group of couches near the center of the room, his tension clearly visible as they enclosed on the space.

Stopping, his eyes narrowed and he pointed dramatically at something out of Kyoya's range of vision, "Evidence!" He hissed, jabbing one finger at the floor.

They way he'd said it, Kyoya was half expecting to find a threatening message written in blood. But as he moved past the couch's corner to stand beside him he found he was looking at nothing more then the remnants of a broken tea set.

"It's just a broken tea set." Haruhi muttered, already voicing what Kyoya had not.

Immediately Tamaki rounded on the girl. "Oh my poor Haruhi! That's what they want you to think! Can't you see? It's all a part of their devious plan!" He sobbed, Haruhi's face clapped between his hands much to her annoyance.

"Who's plan? And get off of me!"

"The vandals! They've come to destroy us...out of jealousy clearly."

Haruhi looked anything but convinced.

Bent down on one knee, Kyoya studied the floor carefully. Unlike dear Tamaki, he was sure nobody was planning an attack, however it didn't hurt to get a closer look at the problem. There was a variety of things it could have been, most of them having absolutely nothing to do with Tamaki's invisible vandals.

Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he was about to stand again when something caught his eye. Curiously, he reached down to grab the tiny object and bring it closer to his face.

It was a necklace, silver and slim, a small decorative in the shape of crescent moon dangling from the end. Fist enclosing around the jewelry, Kyoya pocketed his find without anybody noticing. On his feet again, he calmly pressed a finger to the bridge of his nose. "I don't know what gave you the idea, but it wasn't vandals." He spoke reasonably, dark eyes flashing toward the Hitachiin pair.

Hikaru and Kaoru produced innocent grins, though they weren't fooling anyone...except Tamaki that is.

"Hey, we just suggested it."

"Yeah, it could have been anything." Kaoru added, both shrugging. No doubt it had been their words that had planted the crazy seed of thought in his head, not that he couldn't have come up with it on his own anyway.

Honey smiled sweetly, "That's good to know!" He chimed, all previous hints of worry diminished. Mori nodded once to express his agreement. No doubt he was searching for a reason to celebrate with one kind of cake or another.

"See, I told you guys there was nothing to worry about." Haruhi interjected having escaped Tamaki's wrath.

Tamaki scowled, "Well if it wasn't vandals, then who was it?" He demanded, disappointed he'd lost his lead. It wasn't that big a deal really, it wasn't like the tea set had been much of anything to them, and they could always replace it. On the other hand, Kyoya knew he wouldn't be satisfied until he found who'd be paying the debt. The china had been no commoners object that was for sure.

Realizing they were looking at him for answers again, he stepped over the mess and began walking back to the table. "Between the amount of students and staff here, I don't think you'll be getting a direct answer to that anytime soon. Unless of course it happens again."

"I say we question everyone! This is a crime!" Tamaki declared.

"No way, that's just a waste of time. They could be anywhere by now." Haruhi stated plainly.

"Actually, they're still in this room."

All at once everyone spun around to stare at Kyoya with equally dumbfounded looks. Even Haruhi couldn't help but watch him quizzically. Only a few seconds ago he'd been the one to tell them the search was hopeless only to come back and contradict himself?

Hikaru crossed his arms, "Oh yeah, why do you say that?" Came his challenging tone.

Back to the confused group, Kyoya appeared to be standing over something on the table, however when he turned again, a schoolbag dangled from his hand. "I don't think our culprit would want to be leaving this behind."

Shocked, the others exchanged confused glances before their eyes began traveling around the room. Expecting the guilty being to appear out of nowhere, Tamaki made a full circle, but saw absolutely nothing.

"You think...they're hiding?"

Kyoya shook his head, "No, not necessarily."

"Well if they're not hiding then why can't we see them?"

"Tamaki has a point for once, that doesn't really make much sense Kyoya..." Haruhi admitted. Kaoru and Hikaru made quiet murmurs of agreement. Honey looked stumped, and even Mori was showing a slight sign of confusion.

The dark haired Ootori flashed them a small smirk, "Very well then, I'll show you."

Dropping the bag, he made his way to the opposite side of the room, heads turning to watch his movement like hawks. Stopping by a big tropical looking plant next to the wall, he brushed away a few of the over-sized leaves to gain access to the thing behind it. As soon as he did so, Hikaru gently elbowed his brothers side.

"Hey Kaoru, since when was there a closet there?" He whispered.

Kaoru scratched his head thoughtfully, "Beats me."

Truthfully, none of them had ever noticed the ancient looking door, save for Kyoya obviously. But in fear of looking like the stupid one, nobody said anything about it and just continued to pretend they'd always known of it's existence. Well, they knew now didn't they?

Silently the observed Kyoya who'd bent over the knob and seemed to be considering something. Then, reaching out to it, he tampered with the thing for a few a muffled clicking sound, the door came unlocked.

Satisfied, he opened the closet, the door creaking as he did so. Then without a word, he walked inside.

For the longest time nothing happened, not a word spoken. Until finally...

"GAHH! What the hell-?"

Needless to say, everyone jumped at the noise, because it definitely wasn't Kyoya that was doing the shouting. Unless he'd developed a considerably higher voice in there that was.

When Kyoya reappeared again, he wasn't alone. This time he had another person with him, one who seemed rather reluctant to be found. Refusing to be cooperative, the girl was dragged out by the hood of her sweatshirt, heels dug into the ground while she attempted to pull herself away.

"Let. Go. Of. Me!" She practically snarled, hands clenched around his arm as if she were trying to strangle it. It might have worked had she been stronger.

As always, Kyoya remained calm, "I gave you the chance to come out yourself."

Face scrunched in frustration, she thrashed around, but only managed to tighten his hold. "Ow ow ow OW! I'm sorry I broke your stuff okay! It was an accident! NOW LET ME GO!"

In awe, they watched as he was forced to pull her all the way back to the couch, the strange girl resisting the entire way. With difficulty he managed to sit her down. It wasn't until she noticed that she was by far out numbered did she stop moving around, still looking royally pissed.

No matter how much he held his cool composure, it wasn't hard to see Kyoya was growing impatient with the task. It hadn't exactly been easy work, not to mention the fact that she'd tried to twist off his arm...or something like that.

"You broke that?" Tamaki pushed, still not quite over the surprise of such a random event. He was sure he'd never seen her before in his life and suddenly she was found in there closet?

Arms crossed, she glared at him stubbornly. "I said I was sorry!" She protested. The way she was going about it, one would think they were trying to sentence her to death.

"Hey wait a second," Haruhi interrupted, "I know you."

"She's in our class!" The brothers added in perfect unison.

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are, you're the new girl." They insisted peering closer.

"Aden Eluekhart I believe," Kyoya spoke up, "Originally born in America, her father owns a successful electronics business specializing in computerized products. However she moved to Japan a few years ago when he re-married and has been living here ever since."

Hearing him say this, nobody looked even the slightest bit taken back except Aden herself. In fact, she was staring at him like he'd just slapped her in the face with a wet fish, jaw dropped.

"Wha-? How do you know that! Are you stalking me?"

Kyoya gazed back at her sharply. "I have my resources. I like to keep tab's on all the new students that come to Ouran."

"Resources? What's that suppose to mean, you can't just Google search someone and get stuff like that! Are you undercover or something? What's your problem!" Aden replied, jumping to her looked remarkably furious for having very little to be mad about, so he ignored her comment.

Honestly they'd hardly gotten time to start a conversation and she'd already managed to work herself into a temper.

Tamaki wasn't sure he'd ever heard a girl yell so much in such little time. Haruhi certainly wasn't doing it. It was hard to believe Aden was a student at the school, for she didn't even look it. Her clothing appeared to be something a boy might wear and she was covered head to toe in cobwebs and dust, compliments of her closet captor.

Curiously Hikaru and Kaoru stepped forward to stand in front of the peeved stranger, "So how'd you even get in there anyway?" They pestered mischievously.

Aden opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out, her face reddening awkwardly. "I...I got lost." She replied at last.

Honey stared at her with his little blond head tipped sideways, "In a closet?"

"Yes! I mean no...I mean...yes, uhhh no..." Trailing off, she shook her head, "It doesn't matter!"

Noting the weird looks she was getting, Aden tried to brush some of the web material from her shoulder, "And what about you...what are you guys doing here?" She said heatedly hoping to beat them at their own game.

"We come here almost everyday." Kaoru stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Aden's eyes narrowed even further while she looked at each one of them in turn, "Oh yeah, I've heard of you. You must be the horde club."

Only Haruhi seemed to find this funny.

"_Host_ club." Kyoya corrected icily.

"Shut up you." She snapped back, shooting him a nasty glare.

Without hesitation he returned the expression, there eyes centered on each other like blood-thirsty wolves. If threatening looks could kill, everyone in the room would have dropped dead. Nobody could ever remember anyone directly telling the Shadow King to shut up, especially someone who's height just barely reached his chin. But indeed she had. Typically something like this wouldn't have even phased him, however the temperamental girl was really asking for it.

Seeing the dangerous turn the situation had quickly taken, Haruhi pushed her way in-between the two who each seemed to be trying to burn a hole into the others forehead, "Come on guys, we need to calm down."

Instantly Tamaki was at her side, "I second that motion!" He announced.

Aden snorted like she would have rather just started a fight then and there, but it was Kyoya who decided to end the match, if only just because he realized she was far from worth the time.

Eventually his opponent too gave up, however not before they clearly heard her mutter something that sounded a lot like _"bastard"_ under her breath.

The Hitachiin's looked a little disappointed that they wouldn't be witnessing something violent first hand, but Haruhi just sighed with great relief. She didn't think Kyoya would really bring himself down to that level, but Aden looked all to willing.

"Whatever...this is stupid, I'm leaving." Aden spoke, though mostly to herself. Then without another word she turned and began the march to the door. Kyoya however had different ideas.

"That's quite nice and all, but I'm afraid I can't let you go just yet." He informed, light reflecting on his spectacles.

Aden halted, fists clenched though she refused to turn around, "I can go wherever I want."

"Perhaps, but unfortunately the tea set you broke was worth about 2,000,000 Yen."

Although they couldn't see it, Aden's eyelid twitched, her shoulders tensing. "Well then, I suppose that is a problem now isn't it?" She replied through clenched teeth, "You better take care of that."

Watching her take another step, Kyoya allowed himself another knowing smirk, "Then I guess you won't be wanting _this_ back anytime soon." Hand slipping into his pocket, he gently removed the half moon necklace he'd discovered earlier.

Equally as surprised as Aden to see what Kyoya now possessed, eyes grew wider, the room growing silent.

Gawking at him for a few dragging moments, Aden touched her neck only to find that the item was indeed her own. It must have come loose when she'd fallen over the table. Trembling with rage, she took a step forward, "Give that back." She growled.

Twirling the trinket leisurely, Kyoya watched her carefully, "I have all intentions to, but first I'd like that debt paid."

Though she didn't move any closer to him, mentally, Aden was beating herself up. How could she have been so careless? She should have realized she'd dropped it earlier, how hadn't she noticed? Now she realized he'd gotten her exactly where he wanted, and she hadn't helped her situation any by showing how protective she felt toward the piece, he'd use that to his advantage as well.

Trying her hardest not to lunge at him, Aden dug her nails into the palm of her hand. She didn't have much of a choice now. She needed that back.

"Fine," She spat, voice dripping in venom, "Fine you'll get your payment."

At first Haruhi found herself sympathizing with the girl, even if she'd caused them a bit of unnecessary trouble. She too had been in the same situation. However she suddenly recalled what Kyoya had told them earlier about Aden, surely she could afford it right? But if that was the case, then why was it such a big deal? Maybe it was just the fact that he now had something to hold over her, after all the two hadn't exactly gotten off on the greatest terms.

Relishing in the fact that Aden had finally decided to cooperate, Kyoya snatched his notebook and flipped through the pages. "Then it's a deal, as soon as your debts paid, I'll give your necklace back." He replied in a factual tone before once again burying the silver belonging into his pocket.

Aden snorted, "Creep," She retorted softly, but received no reaction from Kyoya who'd taken to busily scratching something onto the paper.

Then, unable to take anymore, she stormed past the rest of the group like a seething bull, head lowered. If she hadn't been so worked up, then perhaps she might have noticed the school bag she was leaving behind. Honey on the other hand, did notice it.

"Hey, wait!" He piped up just as she'd thrown open the doors, "You forgot your-"

He was abruptly cut off by the sound of slamming wooden planks.

"...bag." He finished lamely, blinking once. But she'd already gone.

"Well that was...interesting?" Tamaki murmured, unsure how to react.

The only one who seemed the least bit effected was Kyoya. "Don't worry," He reassured them,"She'll be back."

Telepathically they couldn't help but wonder if that was such a good thing.

* * *

**Lul. She's just such a lovely little ray of sunshine, what a great start to a blossoming friendship.**

**Apologies if everyone seems to OOC, I tried, but it's not exactly the easiest thing in the world ya know? Then again, my writing in general bothers me, so that might explain it.**

**(By the way, she's not going to become a host. That idea has been looong over done. Besides, everyone knows she's a girl and...I don't think Aden could pull of being a host if her life depended on it.)**

**CHARACTER COMMENTARY**

**Kyoya: **Looking back on this, I think I should have just left you in that closet for a few days.**  
Aden: **Um, excuse me? That was unnecessary.**  
Kyoya: **I was just being honest.**  
Aden: **And for the record, what SBH didn't tell you was how she'd originally planned to have me beat Kyoya up, but it would have been so gruesome that the story would have been bumped up to an "M" rating. And so we have this instead ... to, you know, save you from the epicness that would have occurred.**  
SBH: **Huh? Um ... that never even crossed my mind.**  
Aden: **Yeah well, it happened in the other version of this story.**  
Kyoya: **There is no _other_ version.**  
Aden: **There COULD be, and it would be ten times better then whatever SBH could come up with because I'd be the author instead.**  
SBH: **...**  
Kyoya: **You can't even finish your homework, let alone a whole story.**  
Aden: **I CAN TO WRITE A STORY, JUST YOU WATCH!  
**Kyoya:** Wonderful.**  
SBH: **-facedesk-**  
**


	3. Aden's Frustrations

**Now the story has three chapters, isn't that intriguing. It's still not that interesting, but I'll get there.  
**

**And I got some reviews!**

**Queen Violet of the Underworld:** I'm happy you think so! And your correcting doesn't bother me at all. As you'll learn my grammar/spelling can sometimes turn out a little deficient, so it's helpful.

**Ciel Blanche**: Lul, yes, I did my best to try and make Aden uhh...human. Mary-sues scare me a bit, not gonna lie.

* * *

**Chapter Three**

ADEN'S FRUSTRATIONS

_(In which Aden converses...a lot.)_

Between the time she'd spent trapped in the dark and her lovely run in with the Host club, school had officially ended leaving the girl freedom to tromp out the doors as she wished. She didn't even particularly care that most of the population standing in the hallways stopped to watch the odd scene she was creating.

Brows knitted and shoulders hunched forward, Aden simply plowed her way through to make a path for herself muttering angrily the entire way. To anybody passing by she appeared completely insane, her face turned toward the ground as she refused to make eye contact. But it didn't matter, in her haste she'd almost completely forgotten they existed, her only motive to get as far away as possible before she did something she'd regret later.

"_Idiots, all of them! I hope __**they**__ get stuck in that stupid closet...except for that one with the glasses, he needs to be dropped in a bear den, with lots of big, hungry, bears. No wait! Sharks, sharks would work. Or both...yeah, both would be good. And they should all have rabies...can sharks even get rabies?"_

Absorbed in her vivid imaginations, Aden practically threw herself out the door and onto the walkway kicking at stones as she went. There was something horribly wrong with that group, she was one hundred percent sure of it. Since when did they own that place, or any part of the school for that matter? They had no business keeping her there, she should have just gotten out while she had the chance. Now she owed some kind of debt to whatever his name was.

Something with a K? She couldn't remember exactly. It didn't matter though, _jerk-face_ fit him better anyway. He was the worst one.

With great efficiency Aden reached the driveway where the majority of the students were being picked up by costly transportation, many of them limos. However she didn't stop there and continued to walk until she was standing in a thick patch of vegetation near the street.

Pulling away branches and leaves, she sifted through many thick bushes before coming face to face with her objective. It was a bicycle, a simple gray framed bicycle with a large chunk taken out of the seat and a flat tire leaning against the fence.

For the first time since the beginning of that day, Aden smiled a little and patted the handles with admiration.

"Still here?" She joked to the inanimate object. Of course she knew it would be, no person anywhere near Ouran would even so much as think about stealing something so old looking, especially a bike. Which probably explained the schools lack of bike racks. And though her step mother continually nagged her about riding to school on such a disgraceful thing, she much preferred it over anything else and refused to get a new one.

Yanking it free of it's plant camouflage, she rolled her trusty companion a couple of feet before swinging up and plunking herself down upon it. As soon as both her feet had touched the pedals, Aden was off, the bike lurching forward and tearing down the sidewalk leaving a small trail of dust behind it.

Fueled by rage, she sped forward, knuckles white from her tight grasp on the handle bars. Usually she could feel her necklace bouncing around her neck as she rode, but this time there was nothing except cool air on her skin. It felt wrong.

"_That bastard..."_ She murmured once more, using her hateful emotions to push herself effortless forward. She needed to be thinking about ways to get money, yet the only things that came to mind were numerous plans of torture. Which, although nice, weren't going to get her anywhere but prison.

"_I need to calm down."_

Dodging the pedestrians as she passed them, Aden was only forced to stop when she met a crosswalk. Here she took the time to try and even her breaths. It was challenging, but eventually she could feel herself unwind a little, even if the spiteful feelings still remained.

Now riding home at a much more reasonable pace, she tried to brainstorm something up as she went, completely focused in on ideas.

However it was as she was passing a neighborhood of friendly looking apartment buildings that she thought she heard something, something that sounded a lot like her name. Slowing down for a moment, Aden strained to hear anything, but caught nothing. Figuring she must have imagined it, she shrugged and began peddling again. All those bumps on the head must have been getting to her.

"Aden!"

She heard it again, but this time definitely much louder and closer.

Skidding to an abrupt stop, Aden took the opportunity to look over her shoulder. The moment she did so, the sides of her mouth lifted upwards.

Seeing that she'd stopped moving, the figure running toward her quickly caught up closing the space between them. It was a boy, a darker skinned fellow with messy chocolate brown hair that stuck up wildly in all directions and a bright green t-shirt which made him stick out like a sore thumb.

"Hey Kaito!" Aden greeted him happily.

Out of breath, Kaito leaned over laughing and gasping for air. "Are you...going...deaf?" He breathed, "I was...calling...your...name...forever!"

Aden chuckled, "Sorry Kaito, I was thinking about something."

Finally recovered, he straightened and returned the grin, "About what? A cure for cancer? I thought you were ignoring me."

"No...just something else."

She didn't let on to much, but he immediately caught the change in her voice, his happy expression shadowing. "Bad day?" He asked, watching her thoughtfully through bright blue eyes.

Aden looked up. She wasn't surprised he could guess so easily, he could always tell when something was bothering her. Kaito Sarruku had been the very first and only good friend Aden had met when she'd moved to Japan, incidentally it'd happened when the two of them had collided on their bikes. But for some reason they just seemed to connect, he was one of the only people willing to put up with her shifty moods.

However she'd never gone to school with him, Kaito attended the public high-school as he was far from wealthy and lived in an apartment with his mother and little sister. It made her feel guilty to know how much more her family had then he did, but Kaito didn't seem to care one bit.

"You don't want to know." She sighed. Aden didn't think it would be fair to dump her problems on him no matter what he said. Besides, the whole story was really quite strange, not to mention embarrassing.

Kaito looked a little worried, but he smiled cheerfully regardless, "Man, that sucks." He replied honestly, "But I think I know what might help."

"And what's that?"

"I got the coolest new video game, it just came out and it's got the most amazing graphics. You wanna come over and check it out?" Kaito asked hopefully.

He'd been right of course, spending time playing video games with Kaito sounded wonderful, it was just what she needed to forget about the days previous events. Even so, it didn't erase the issue.

"Nahh, sorry Kaito, I don't think I can do it today. Maybe some other time." She admitted regretfully. Kaito didn't appear too disappointed.

"That's okay, I understand, just call me whenever you wanna come over alright?"

"You can count on it." Aden reassured, "But I better get going now, so I'll see you later."

He nodded, "Alright, see ya Aden!"

Hopping back on her bike, Aden was about to leave when suddenly a thought struck her. Turning, she called out to her friend again, "Hey Kaito, you...er, you wouldn't happen to know a good place to buy tea sets would you?"

Kaito, who'd already started walking in the opposite direction, gave her a puzzled look, "Um, no sorry. Why?"

"It's nothing, never-mind. Bye!"

Then, before he could get a chance to ask anymore, Aden rode off again, hair whisking out behind her. She didn't think he'd have known, but it was worth a try anyway.

By the time she reached the Eluekhart estate, the sun was already beginning to set, the sky painted in brilliant shades of orange and pink. Of course, she had purposely taken the long route, but she'd been in no hurry to get home. Now pulling into the driveway, Aden wheeled past the gate and up the brick laden path, her bike quiet on the smooth terrain.

When the white bleached mansion came into view, she quickly pulled on the brakes and let out a long irritated sigh. Much to her displeasure, her step-mothers polished convertible sat parked outside the building like a shiny jewel. Great, that must have meant she was home.

The only person Aden hated more then that dreadful women was her eighteen year old son, Ryota. Though they were both nearly tied at the top of her list of disliked. Compared to the two of them, everyone at Ouran seemed wonderful, even the guys in the Host club. Just being related to them was almost enough to drive her crazy.

"_I better go through the back then, wouldn't want to attract their attention." _

Getting off, Aden steered the bike down a smaller dirt trail to her right, ducking so she didn't hit the overgrown trees lining the sides. About halfway through she abandon the bike leaning against a cherry tree out of sight to all except those actually searching for it. Nobody ever took the path except her, so she didn't think anything would happen to it.

Silently making her way to the end, Aden emerged into an elegant garden, the place filled with flourishing plants and thick scented flowers. It was pretty, but it always gave her a headache, so she never spent a lot of time there save for the times she wanted to sneak into the house. Besides, it was huge, there's no telling how long you could get lost among the greenery.

Following the footsteps she'd left so many times before, the girl finally made contact with the center part of the garden and the serene pond marking it. Ears filled with the steady trickling of water, Aden walked around the crystal clear surface like she'd always done, hands deep in her pockets.

Out of the corner of her eye she could make out the Koi fish darting along the edge in her wake, their colorful scales reflecting in the dying light. Sometimes she would stop to feed them if she had anything to give. Once she'd tried giving them all names, but the only one she could really remember was the black Koi she'd called Inky.

Stopping, Aden knelt down and gently poked her hand into the water. Immediately Inky darted forward to nibble softly at her finger tip in hopes of something to eat. "Sorry guys, I haven't got anything today." She apologized. Realizing that she'd come empty handed, the beautiful creatures began to venture away in disappointment, Aden watching them peacefully. When she could no longer see them anymore, she took a deep breath and rose again.

"They can't hear you you know."

Flinching at the sudden voice, Aden turned, heart beating a little faster.

Covered by the evening shadows, Ryota stepped into view, his form half hidden by a tall leafy bush with sickly purple flowers. He was a very thin, pale boy with a sharp face and slicked brown hair that always made Aden think of a serpent. As always he wore only the nicest of cloths and an extremely smug expression.

"I know that!" Aden shot back instantly.

"Then why were you talking to them?"

Aden felt the strong urge to punch her step-brother in the throat, but knew she would get into more trouble then she could ever imagine if she so much as laid a finger on him. He knew it too, and seemed to be enjoying her inner struggle.

"What are you even doing out here?" She pushed, watching him carefully.

Ryota sneered, "I could ask you the same thing, is it a crime to go outside or something?"

Aden said nothing. She knew for a fact that Ryota wouldn't have come to the garden if he wasn't expecting something out of it. The only problem was she hadn't a clue what, Ryota was constantly being a sneak, so whatever it was it probably wasn't in any way innocent. He was the most self absorbed being she'd ever met, and he was very well aware of it.

"Fine, I don't care," She grumbled, "Just leave me alone."

Eager to get away from him, Aden turned toward the house and continued walking, the hair on the back of her neck rising when she felt him watching her. Usually she tried her best to stay far away from Ryota, he was way to shady and used every excuse he could to get her into hot water with her father. Thankfully she didn't think he liked him very much either, but it didn't really matter because his mother absolutely adored him.

So much in fact that it was her greatest goal to convince her father that Ryota should have been the one to inherit the family business instead of Aden. In a way he did seem like the obvious choice, unlike Aden he seemed to excel extremely well in academics and she really didn't want the responsibility anyway. Yet even so, there was no way she wanted it to go to a slime ball like him, not in a million years.

Reaching the steps, Aden climbed them a bit faster then intended, but as soon as she was safely inside and out of his view, she relaxed again. For the most part nothing good ever came out of seeing Ryota, but at least for the moment she knew that however mad jerk-face had made her, he was far better then her step-brother, and that was saying something.

Without bothering to turn on the light, she directed herself through one of the living rooms to the wide stair case in the hall void of much thought. About halfway up Aden heard her stomach give a loud gurgling complaint and she clutched her middle in frustration. Okay, so maybe she hadn't taken the time to eat much that day, but she really didn't want to go looking for food at the moment. Confident they'd be having dinner later, she ignored the hollow feeling and pushed onward.

When she finally got to her bedroom, Aden drug herself to the bed and flopped face first onto the blankets, happy to be alone at last. It was only then that she'd realized what a long day it'd been and how exhausted she really felt, not to mention dirty. That closet hadn't exactly been the cleanest place in the world.

Sitting up, she unconsciously reached up to remove her necklace but stopped and let her hands flop back down again. Oh yeah.

Making a face, she simply fell back over again, this time allowing herself to curl up amongst the comfortable warmth. She'd get it back all in good time, she just had to come up with a good plan. If only her head didn't feel so achy.

Exhaustion from her long bike ride kicking in at last, Aden's eyelids flickered as she fought to keep them open.

"_I can't go to sleep yet...it's not even 6:00."_

She'd completely intended to stay awake, but the more she tried to fight it away, the more she could feel sleep weighing down on her. Eventually Aden just gave up and closing her eyes, let herself drift off.

...

The next day Aden went to school, or at least that's what she said she would do. However when she woke up to find that she'd accidentally parted with her bag, she quickly realized she wouldn't have had anything to go with, which was fine for the time being because she really wasn't in the mood anyway.

So instead of riding directly to school like everyone thought she would, Aden opted to hang around town for a bit, she even spared some time to search for a place to buy a good tea set. On the bright side she did happen to run across quite a few of them, unfortunately they weren't anything like the one she was hunting for, so about halfway through the day she just gave up figuring she'd probably seen enough cheap, plastic kitchenware for a lifetime.

After that she simply biked to the nearby park were she bought a chocolate bar from the vending machine and laid around under the tree shade playing the Gameboy she'd borrowed from Kaito. It was mildly entertaining, and she would have probably dozed off too had she not been rudely interrupted by a squirrel running away with the rest of her snack. Pissed, Aden attempted to climb the tree after it but ended up falling off and bruising her tail bone in the process. Fed up with hearing the creature's mocking chattering, she decided it was about time to leave.

From there she went to Ouran and lolled around outside the school grounds, waiting. She really wasn't sure what for, the money she'd taken from her room was just barely enough to take a chip from her debt and Aden was certain she wasn't prepared to talk to anyone from the Host club just yet. At this rate she'd be paying them for the rest of her life. But here she was, sitting on a bench with her chin on her fist wasting her time away for no reason at all. It was seriously frustrating, and she was getting bored, so bored in fact that she might have even tried to do some of her homework if she actually _had_ it. Forget bad day, this whole week was just crap.

For however long Aden sat out there she didn't know, but by the time she actually started paying attention again students were filing out of the building. In fact, she might not have even noticed this until she heard someone approach.

Without moving her head even an inch, Aden's eyes traveled upward to fix on their face. Much to her surprise, it was one of the boy's from yesterday, the shorter, feminine looking one with brown hair and a friendly face.

"Hey," He greeted politely, "Can I sit here?"

Aden's shoulders rose and fell in a lazy shrug, "Sure, I guess."

Setting down his bag, he sat down calmly on the opposite side of the bench and rustled around for something. When he returned, he had something in his arms.

"You forgot this yesterday, I thought you might want it back."

Head lifting, Aden watched as he held out her bag. So that's what happened to it, she must have left it in the music room! Without hesitation she grabbed it away and couldn't help but feel a small twinge of gratitude toward him.

"Oh, uh...thanks..." She trailed off awkwardly after realizing she had no idea what to call him.

He smiled, "No problem. and It's Haruhi."

Aden blinked, "Thanks Haruhi."

He may have looked extremely (and almost scarily) feminine, but Haruhi seemed alright, even if he did hang out with all the others. At least he had the decency to return her things...unlike a certain someone. Speaking of him...

Reaching into her pants pocket, Aden grabbed the money she'd brought along and held it out to the boy. "Here," She muttered, "Could you give this to jerk-face?"

"To...who?"

Aden blinked once again. Oh yeah that's right, that wasn't his real name was it? She sighed.

"You know, the tall one with the glasses."

Haruhi laughed quietly and took it, "Ohhh, you mean Kyoya."

She nodded mutely, close enough.

For a while they sat in silence, Aden glaring at the road and Haruhi quietly watching a couple of birds fluttering around in the sky. She heard him say hi to a few of the giggling girls that passed by, but for the most part he was quiet. Aden didn't get it. How could someone so normal hang around people so...not normal? And why did he look so freaking girly! He looked more like a female then some of the women she'd seen in her life. It was starting to bother her and she really wanted to ask, but decided it wouldn't be a very good idea. After all, typically people didn't go around asking things like that. Finally Haruhi spoke up again.

"They're not that bad you know, the Host club I mean."

Aden snorted in clear disbelief, but he continued.

"I didn't exactly get along great with them at first either. I thought they were annoying."

"_I can believe that."_ Aden thought to herself.

"But I'll admit, it sure makes life interesting, especially with a nut job like Tamaki around."

Unable to remember which one he was talking about, she sat up and gave Haruhi a confused glance. Thankfully he caught on right away.

"Sorry, I forgot you don't know their names yet. Tamaki's the dramatic blond one, he's the one who made the group."

"I see," She murmured, "Er...what about the others, what are their names?" Aden asked hesitantly shuffling her feet. She didn't want him to think she was interested, she just figured it be a good to know. Besides, thanks to jerk-face, they all knew her name, so it was only fair.

Haruhi placed a finger thoughtfully to his chin, "Well, besides Tamaki and Kyoya, there's the twins, Hikaru and Kaoru, I think you can recognize them. And there's also Mitsukuni, but usually we just call him Honey. He's the little one. Oh, and of course wherever he goes, Takashi goes, Mori for short. I'm the newest member, which makes seven of us."

Finishing, Haruhi looked over at Aden who was trying her best to remember them all.

"So that's Tamaki, Kaoru, Hikaru, Honey, Mori and jer- I mean Kyoya?"

"Yup, that's it."

Aden frowned a little. Why did it seem like there had been more yesterday? Maybe she'd just been feeling overwhelmed. Sighing, she slowly removed herself from the bench and got to her feet, bag safely in her hands. Happy to have it back, Aden gave Haruhi a ghost of a smile.

"I think I'm gonna go now, but thanks for my stuff..." She said, secretly deciding she was happy to have gotten to know him on better grounds. He was okay.

"Anytime, it's not a big deal." He returned, standing as well and sticking out his hand, "Nice to meet you by the way. Being new can be a pain."

Staring at Haruhi blankly, Aden nodded and grasped his hand as well to complete the friendly gesture. "Yeah, I guess it is."

Stepping away, Haruhi bid her goodbye and Aden watched as he headed down the street not quite sure what to think about her new acquaintance. Now at least she knew that not everyone at the school were complete morons...just most of them. Maybe she could learn to work with this place...maybe.

* * *

**Haha, Aden's so clueless, she thinks Haruhi's a guy. But she has a point, I mean most of the time people don't just randomly blurt out, "Sooo, I was wondering, what's your gender exactly? I'm a little confused." Unless of course you roll that way...**

**And the nickname 'Jerk-face' amuses me.**

**CHARACTER COMMENTARY**

**Kaito: **Why didn't you just like ... ask your dad for some money?**  
Haruhi: **No kidding, why didn't you?**  
Kyoya: **Because that would have made too much sense.**  
Aden: **BECAUSE ... just because.**  
Kyoya: **So how's that story coming along?**  
Kaito: **Aden wrote a story?**  
Haruhi: **Oh no ...**  
Aden: **I'm working on it!**  
SBH: **-reading the story- The hell? All you've got is three sentences describing how "evil" the Host club is. This isn't a story, it's just a rant.**  
Aden: **Rant ... story, same thing.**  
Kyoya: **No they're not.**  
Aden: **It's my work, if I say it's a story, it's a story!**  
SBH: **Somehow you've managed to spell everyone's name wrong.**  
Aden: **Ugh, okay, we're moving to the next chapter now, obviously you people can't appreciate great literature.**  
**


	4. Breaking And Entering

**This chapter's kinda short, but at least it's getting somewhere I suppose. **

**Once again thanks to my two reviewers! And yes, in 90% of the OC stories I've read they all somehow managed to figure out Haruhi's gender within the first few seconds they meet her...apparently there's a lot of all knowing OC's floating around. That's not natural. o-o**

* * *

**Chapter Four**

BREAKING AND ENTERING

_(In which bad temperament makes another appearance)_

"_It'll only take a few seconds, that's it. Just walk in and get out, it's that simple...they won't even notice me."_

Aden hung her head. Who was she kidding? Of course they were going to notice her! She should have known by now that she was by far the unluckiest person to walk the planet, that wasn't going to change anytime soon no matter what she told herself.

Groaning inwardly, she slumped against the wall and slid to the floor like a damp towel looking strangely out of place against the bright paint. Dreary faced, Aden picked up the flat object in her right hand and set it in her lap. It was a simple red notebook with the name 'Haruhi' labeled neatly in the corner because they were in fact, Haruhi's notes.

It'd been a whole week since Aden had first spoken with him and as it turns out getting to know the boy actually seemed to have quite a few helpful benefits. Not only did she now have someone to talk to during school hours, but he also proved quite intelligent when it came to things like homework and note taking skills, things Aden could never really get a good grasp on. Thus it had become exceedingly common for Aden to temporarily borrow his notes when she found herself daydreaming or snoozing in the middle of class. Haruhi didn't seem to mind, and for that she was thankful.

She enjoyed speaking with him when she could catch him without the Hitachiin brothers hanging over his shoulder, a rarity since they too attended the same class. However from what she'd learned, Haruhi was actually even more so different from the other students then she'd originally thought. For one thing, he only went to the school because of a special granted scholarship and lived a lifestyle similar to Kaito. Aden was impressed, though found it hard to imagine why anyone would voluntarily go to one of the private academies.

Now sitting outside the music room doors, Aden mentally scolded herself for taking so much time to use the notebook. She'd been so concentrated on copying down the information that the thought to pay attention to the clock had completely escaped her. He was obviously in there, it was usually where he spent his after school hours as she'd recently discovered.

Aden didn't really know what they did, only that the people she least wanted to see were accompanying him and that was all she needed to know. She tried to avoid the Host club topic whenever they got the chance to speak.

"_I guess I could always give it back to him tomorrow." _Aden mused.

It seemed like the logical thing to do in her situation because she certainly wasn't planning on waiting for who knows how long to see him again. Deciding she would find Haruhi the next day, Aden stood and prepared for her leave.

However she'd only taken a few small steps before she suddenly felt the need to stop. A part of her yearned to know what the hell they were doing and why the Host club was even so popular in the first place, but she quickly beat it back down again. No! She didn't care, she was going home.

That settled, Aden attempted to walk away again but felt herself pulled back by the invisible forces of curiosity. If she didn't find out, the question would eat at her all night. It couldn't hurt to look a little right?

Turning back toward the entrance, Aden crept soundlessly toward the door. Pressing her face to the wood, she strained to listen, eyes peeled on the sliver of light escaping the room. She could hear voices, but there were far to many to try and pick out any single words, so it sounded a lot like she was eavesdropping on an over-sized hive of bees. How many people were in there? Was this some kind of weird organization they had going on?

Frustration growing, Aden bit her tongue and moved closer, hands pressed on either side of the door. Still she could hear nothing. Shifting, she was about ready to give up when suddenly she felt her left hand slip downwards, her wrist coming in contact with the handle before she could even get a chance to pull it back.

Motion completed by the pressure she was putting on it, the door swung inward and an unbalanced Aden flew forward with a great yelp of shock. Stumbling, the girl landed in an undignified pile right into the very room she'd previously been dreading to enter.

Shaking her head, Aden lifted her face away from the tile, wincing in the process. For the briefest of moments she half hoped that nobody had noticed allowing her the freedom to sneak back out again.

This wasn't the case.

"You may want to considering practicing some before you try spying again, it doesn't appear to be working all that well for you."

Gaze moving to the left, Aden's expression instantly darkened when she found the speaker.

Without so much as a glance in her direction, Kyoya was sitting a mere five feet away, his attention absorbed into the screen of his computer and his back to the disheveled drop in. It almost looked like he was expecting her unplanned visit.

Glowering at the back of his chair, she hastily got back into a standing position. "I wasn't spying!" She defended rather loudly.

"If that's the case, then by all means enlighten me as to why you were standing outside the door like that?" He replied, once more refusing to look at her.

Aden couldn't help but wish she could shove him over.

"I was...waiting."

"Waiting?"

"For Haruhi."

At last Kyoya turned to face her, though he looked incredibly bored, "Whatever for?"

Realizing that she'd dropped the notebook on her way in, Aden bent down to fish it off the ground, "The notes, I was going to give him his notes back." She retorted, waving them around.

"I see."

Watching as he returned to his work, Aden continued to glare daggers at the back of his head. He thought she was an idiot, she could tell by the way he looked at her and the degrading tone in his voice. Damn did she hate him.

Realizing she was still standing behind him, Kyoya spoke up again, "Haruhi's over there, but don't be a bother to our guests, they happen to be our profit." He informed, waving her off as if she'd been nothing but an irritating fly.

Guests? Confused, Aden did a full circle to better inspect the opposite side of the room.

It looked like much of Ouran's girl population had taken it upon themselves to crowd the place, everywhere she looked the room was clumped with yellow uniformed, giggling girls who implied they were about ready to die from delight. Some were sitting, some were standing, but most of them were gathered in packs watching something she couldn't view. Was this suppose to be a party? How was she suppose to find one person in that?

"What the f-"

"ADEN!"

Practically jumping out of her skin, Aden looked over just in time to see the enthralling approach of one excited Host king. Grinning broadly, Tamaki bent over in a deep theatrical bow.

"I'm so very happy you decided to join us, I knew it wasn't in the nature of a young women to be angry for long." He enthused, as if her very appearance had completely melted all previous barriers of disagreement.

Aden stood practically speechless, "Huh? What are you- I only came to give...notes...Haruhi...the notes!" She sputtered, jabbing the notebook to get her point across.

Apparently he hadn't heard a word she'd said because in an instant he had her hand in his own.

"If you can find it in your heart to forgive us dear princess, then as the Host club's king I declare the same forgiveness. This is the fresh start to a wonderful friendship!"

By now a few of the girls had gathered around to watch the unfolding scene like a dramatic movie, but all Aden could do was stare at him liked he'd just grown a second head. What was his problem?

A little freaked out, she tried her chance at a wild escape but Tamaki had already thrown his arm around her shoulder as if the two of them had been best friends for years.

"What a joyous occasion, we must celebrate this mended alliance!" He announced.

With a great amount of effort Aden managed to wriggle away from his tight grasp.

"Look, I don't know what you're taking, but I just came to see Haruhi, okay?" She breathed, holding out the notebook like a shield.

Still unable to read her unfriendly behavior, Tamaki smiled, "Of course!" He beamed, "Oh Haruhi, someone's here to see you!" Tamaki bellowed in a sing song voice.

Hair ruffled, Aden scooted away from the blond anxiously awaiting Haruhi's arrival so she could get out of there before she was smothered alive. She'd also become intently aware of all the eyes watching them, and she didn't like it one bit. The last thing Aden wanted to be was the show.

Walking calmly through the growing numbers, Haruhi appeared before them, a tray of sweets and tea cups held delicately in his hands. "Yeah, what is it?" He answered.

Quickly spotting the pale form of Aden, he blinked, "Oh hi Aden, I didn't expect you to show up here?"

As if on cue the rest of the hosts appeared as well, curiously standing at the edge of the circle.

"Hey, Kyoya was right," Hikaru stated,"She did come back."

"She must have come to share some cake! Right Mori?" Honey chirped, practically glowing at the thought.

"Maybe."

Unable to take anymore, Aden made a strange noise that attracted everyone's attention, "For goodness sake! I didn't come to forgive anyone or make friends, I didn't come to spy, and I didn't come to eat cake! I came to give Haruhi his note's back! Got it?" She roared. Instantly everything fell into an awkward silence.

Face colored, Aden marched up to Haruhi and roughly handed him the notebook.

"Here."

Haruhi took it with a sympathetic look, "Thanks, sorry about that..."

Aden muttered irritable words of nothing to herself, arms crossed. But when she noticed how quiet everyone had fallen, she fixed them with an agitated glare, "What?" She demanded.

Unsurprisingly nobody made a sound until all at once Kaoru and Hikaru doubled over in fits of laughter, apparently finding both the issue and the crest fallen look on Tamaki's face to be entirely amusing.

Blood boiling, Aden opened her mouth to speak her mind only to be cut off by the collected, stoic appearance of Kyoya who'd decided at last to take the problem into his own hands.

"My greatest apologies everyone, but I believe now seems to be the appropriate time to end club activities for the day." He proclaimed to the gathering horde of girls.

Disappointed, they began making their exit, the hosts bidding them polite fare wells and dismissing them in the most gentlemanly of fashions, assuring their guests that they would be seeing them again soon.

Meanwhile, have succeeded in making a great fool or herself, Aden stood stiff as a pole and feeling very flustered. Well it wasn't her fault! Maybe if they didn't make such a big deal out of everything...though her attitude really hadn't helped the matter.

When the last girl had finally withdrawn, the room was left much emptier then it'd previously been leaving Aden with the gaze of all seven boys. People needed to stop looking at her like that, it really irked her.

"Would you stop doing that?" She blurted accidentally. Apparently speaking her private thoughts came as a symptom of anxiety.

"You're never going to get rid of your debt pulling things like that."

"I wasn't trying to jerk-face!" Aden lashed out before she could stop herself.

Hearing the nick-name she'd dubbed Kyoya, the twins started laughing all over again except this time they were joined by the muffled chuckles of the others.

Doing his best to remain level headed despite the snickering in the background, Kyoya scrutinized the red faced girl calmly, "I suggest learning to cope with that temper of yours as well."

"WHAT TEMPER!" Aden barked; Whoops, that was a dumb thing to say.

"My point exactly."

Outraged, Aden rolled her eyes and threw her hands in the air with a long exasperated sigh, "Fine! Then why don't _you_ tell me how to pay this off then?" She challenged, though didn't appear to be expecting an answer. Twisting so she could no longer see any of the hosts, Aden clasped a hand over her face. This was going to be a long year.

Sensing the taut atmosphere, Haruhi spoke up tentatively, "I know Aden couldn't be a host, but what if she helped out around the place to try and pay off the debt? After-all, that way I could focus more of my attention on the guests and she could work on getting her necklace back?"

"Haruhi my child, you're brilliant! You make daddy so proud!" Came Tamaki's lively voice from the background quickly followed by the sound of Haruhi's fruitless attempts to get away.

Aden's livid expression changed to horror. She knew Haruhi was only trying to help, and it did make sense, but it sounded a lot like pure torture in her mind. That would never work! Right?

On second thought, the sooner she could be done with them the better. Maybe it was for the best.

Reluctantly daring to glance over her shoulder, Aden waited with baited breath. It was obvious Tamaki agreed wholeheartedly with the idea, however Kyoya appeared to be considering the plan carefully.

"That sounds like fun, doesn't it Mori?" Honey cheered delightfully.

"Mhmm."

"Yeah why not?" Hikaru said, "The more the merrier." Kaoru finished. Catching each others eye, their mouths morphed into sly grins. Aden didn't like those looks.

"Well Aden, what do you think?"

Realizing that they were waiting for her opinion, she scratched her head, "Uh, well...I guess, I mean if it'll help," She stuttered, "Though it doesn't exactly sound thrilling..." She added in a whispery mutter, eyes flashing.

"Then I guess that settles it, from this day forth Aden can help Haruhi with the Host club's chores!" Tamaki alleged, making it official. Aden adopted a rather gloomy stance, it was to late to back out now.

Knowing it no longer mattered what he said, Kyoya sighed and pushed his glasses back into place, "I suppose, however it will all depend on how much effort she's willing to contribute."

Aden grumbled inaudibly, a million different scenarios playing out in her head. So that was it then, she was their dog? She grimaced as if she could already feel the effects of all the headaches she would have gained by the time she'd finished with the year. Man this was just like a bad nightmare, only she couldn't wake up. She just knew any of her chances at relaxation had just been flushed down the toilet.

A little light headed, she staggered to the couch and flopped down.

"It'll be okay," Haruhi reassured her, his hand lightly on her shoulder, "On the bright side, you'll get plenty of exercise?"

Aden tried to give him a small smile but failed miserably, "Eh...yeah, yeah I guess so, if you look at it that way." She didn't really feel like reminding him that she already rode her bike to and from school every day.

She couldn't even begin to fathom what Ryota would say if he ever found out she'd agreed to play maid for an odd group of high-school boys. It would haunt her for the rest of her life.

"_Alright, I can do this, how bad can it really be?"_ Aden thought stubbornly trying her luck at standing once more.

Somehow in her few minutes of woe, Tamaki and the twins had managed to get themselves into an argument over something which turned into an animated chase before Aden could even say a word. Apparently it was a daily occurrence because nobody else seemed concerned, not even when their squabble ended up knocking over a large pitcher of beverage and various other messy things.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Aden tried timidly, wincing when a whole cake splattered across the floor.

"I wouldn't try." Kyoya informed, suddenly appearing beside her.

Aden wavered, since when was he standing there? And more importantly...when did he find time to go get a broom?

However he didn't give her much time to puzzle over the matter before he was shoving the broom into her hands.

"Could you clean that up then?" He said, walking away without waiting for an answer.

Aden's eyelid twitched to the sound of more breaking in the background, her grasp on the handle tightening.

Good lord what had she gotten herself into?

* * *

**This chapter feels cliche. No, just kidding, it _is_ cliche. But whatever, I needed to fit her in somehow to set up my future plans for the plot. I'm starting to like this story better, that's a good sign then, eh?**

**CHARACTER COMMENTARY**

**Aden: **The hell! Am I the only one noticing a pattern here concerning my situation with doors?**  
SBH: **Hey, some people can't get along with dogs, some people can't get along with doors.**  
Aden: **...**  
SBH:** That sounded better in my head.**  
Aden: **ANYWAY. So my life, it was ruined, which was what I was TRYING to tell you all in the summery ... but NOOOO.**  
Kyoya: **I think I'm not the only one here thinking this when I say, you did it to yourself.**  
Aden: **ADLOUFALDJLA.**  
Tamaki: **Oh um, is she speaking in code now? -clueless-**  
Kyoya: **I'm gonna guess it means something like, "Screw you, I hate you."**  
SBH: **Yep, pretty much.**  
Aden: **Oh yeah? Well try to figure out what THIS means, YOU'RE A-**  
SBH: **Okay, commentary time over!**  
**


	5. Girl vs Pond

**Oookay, so this update took a little longer then the others. I was being my lazy self again, so that explains it. On the bright side, it's longer, on the downside, it's written crappy as I'm confident whatever writing skills I had went and commit suicide while I was trying to get it done, so apologies for any cringing you may do. **

**ColonKellyHigginsGoil304:** I completely agree with you. Like I said, I started writing this for the hell of it before I'd even taken a look at some of the other fics...my tip for the day, don't do that, it's a dumb idea.

**Ciel Blanche:** Thanks for the advice. I wrote that chapter really quickly, so it never occurred to me.

* * *

**Chapter Five**

GIRL VS POND

_(Because a certain someone can't swim.)_

"Wait, wait, wait, so let me get this straight...you're going to the Ouran private school now right?"

"Uh huh."

"And on your third day you accidentally broke a...a what was it?"

"A tea set..."

"Right, that belonged to a group of guys who called themselves the Host club?"

"Yup."

"And now you owe them just a little under 2,000,000 Yen?"

"That's what I said wasn't it?"

"Sooo, you've been working for- I mean...helping them out to pay it back?"

"Yes!"

"And _that's_ why you've been so busy lately...?"

"YES!"

Quietly sipping on his beverage, Kaito could only stare at the flustered girl as he digested the whole story and the meaning behind it, expression quite blank. Nonetheless, the instant he was able to fully comprehend what Aden had only just told him he suddenly found himself grinning.

Noticing immediately, Aden glared icily at her counterpart, "What? What are you smiling about?"

And just like that the boy was thrown into a great fit of laughter, the restaurant they currently occupied echoing with the chuckles he desperately tried to contain, his hand clutched helplessly over his mouth.

Curiously, many heads turned toward the noise emitting from their table, forcing Aden to do her best to act casual about the whole ordeal. "Kaito!" She hissed, this time in a much more hushed tone of voice, "Would you stop that? It's not funny!"

Doing his best to stifle his sounds, Kaito tried to sit up again only to erupt into another series of giggling.

"S-sorry Aden...it's just...it's just...kinda weird...you know?" He gasped, smiling madly. Aden didn't seem to find it as amusing.

"Yeah well...I suppose." She muttered, face reddening.

Finally able to get himself under control, if only so they wouldn't get kicked out, Kaito took a deep breath and wiped up some of the soda he'd spilled with a napkin.

"I mean, this whole time I thought you were doing something important...but this?"

Crossing her arms, Aden watched the silly smirk on his face with slight irritation, but the more she did so, the more she found he actually had a pretty good point. She was probably one of the last people on earth who'd be caught working for free, especially for someone like a Host club. So the idea that she was using up her time on it was a little strange, not to mention the whole getting trapped in a closet ordeal. Kaito seemed to know her better then she thought.

"Well...okay," She admitted grudgingly, "I guess it's a _little_ funny."

For only a quick second the two teenagers caught each others eye, but it was all the invitation they needed to both chorus in more ridiculous humored sputtering. Neither able to pull their act together, they only stopped when an irked women from one of the nearby tables shushed them into silence. Figuring she wasn't the only one fed up with their racket, Kaito snickered, "We should probably go."

Thus after shoveling down what little they had left on their plates, they paid the bill and ushered themselves out of the building. Outside the warm afternoon sun greeted them, the sidewalk bustling with people eager to enjoy themselves on such a pleasant day. With the season growing ever deeper into fall, it was the perfect weekend to be spent hanging around and soaking up the last of the warmth before it gave way to winter, the downtown area buzzing with life.

Breathing in deeply, Aden lifted her hands upwards in a long stretch, "Mmm, that was good." She commented. Kaito replied with a swift nod. It wasn't the fanciest of places to go out to lunch, but food was food and neither of the two were all that picky.

Grabbing their bikes, they began a casual stroll to nowhere in particular. Aden could tell Kaito wanted to hear more about her new...acquaintances, but he didn't say anything. Besides, as far as Aden was concerned, it wasn't all that important anyway, more like temporary work, only she didn't get paid for it. So far she'd done an excellent job keeping the boys at a distance, and that's the way she planned to keep it. In any case, it wasn't hard, she was a natural at that kind of thing so it seemed, just one look at the way she interacted with the rest of her classmates was enough to tell anybody that much. It might have been stupid, but Aden didn't care, that's the way it had always been and how she always thought it should be. She didn't like change.

"Hey look," Kaito spoke suddenly jerking Aden away from her thoughts, "You wanna get some ice cream?" He questioned, hand indicating the bright little store on the corner.

Pausing, Aden grinned at the colorful sign, "Sounds like a plan."

Soon they were sitting once more, this time outdoors, each with a large cone and a stack of the creamy desert piled high on top.

"Damn, you don't think we got to much?" Aden commented peering over the pile.

"Pssh, nah, this is perfect." Kaito replied confidently. Leaning forward, he moved in to lick off the top but ended up tipping the cone a little to far. With a great splat the topmost part toppled to the ground. "Awww, that sucks..." He pouted, looking down to see that most of it had ended up on his shoe.

Amused by his misfortune, Aden shook her head and began to tackle her own tedious task while Kaito flicked chocolate mush from his sneaker.

As it turns out, Aden was right, their eyes had been much larger then their stomachs that day. In the end Aden was left with a whole half to go, and even Kaito just barely managed to finish. Feeling like she would explode, she leaned back in her chair with a heavy groan, hand on her mid section. What had seemed like an excellent idea at first now felt like a big mistake. On the bright side, she wouldn't be needing dinner that night...or for the next several nights for that matter.

"Remind me never to listen to your ideas again."

Kaito smirked, "Why, I think that went great?" He mumbled, slouching like a sack of potatoes. Aden just rolled her eyes. He never was one to back down from a challenge, even if it meant getting a stomach ache in return.

She would have liked to stay seated like that forever, but sat back up again when she noticed the puddle her melting leftovers were turning into. There was no way she was going to finish it, however she didn't want to waste it either.

"You wouldn't happen to have a little more room left would you Kaito?" Aden asked half jokingly.

Kaito watched her lazily through one open eye, "What do you think?"

Aden shrugged, well it was worth a try. Still, it didn't take care of the problem on her hands. Supposing she would have to throw it away, she stood, "I guess I'll just get rid of this then and we can go."

Picking up the strawberry cone, she was about to find her way to the nearest trash can when a familiar voice spoke up from somewhere close behind her.

"Oh! I'll take it, I'll take it!"

Realizing the voice was specifically addressing her, Aden spun around with a look of relief hardly caring who it was that wanted the ice cream, just thinking about eating more of it made her feel queasy.

"Alright, you can have it, thanks for- " Aden trailed off awkwardly, "...Honey?"

Aden blinked once, then twice, a little unsure whether or not the heat was getting to her, but it did no good. The boy was standing right in front of her, a huge grin on his face and an even bigger cone of ice cream in his hand. Yup, there was no mistaking it, she was definitely looking at the Host club's very own Honey. Now, how the hell he got there was a totally different matter.

In truth, she'd never seen any of them out of school, mostly because she figured they'd rather not be found hanging around in simple places like down town, so as might be expected she was a little shocked. For one thing he wasn't wearing the school uniform nor was he wearing some ridiculous costume, and for another...well Aden really wasn't sure what to think at that exact moment. As if to confirm his presence, she quickly noticed the tall shadow stretching up behind him and tipped her head back to find that Mori had accompanied him. Well that part really didn't surprise her at all, if Honey was there, Mori was there. But really, what were the chances she had of running into them like this?

"Uhhhhh..." Aden slurred, obviously still a little confused. Not that it seemed to bother them one bit.

"Hi Aden!" Honey greeted happily.

"Hey." Mori added.

"Yeah, hi...I guess." She replied slowly, "What are you guys doing here?"

Honey smiled and tilted his head as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "Getting ice cream of course!"

Well he wasn't lying about that. If she didn't know any better, Aden would have guessed he was preparing to eat for three other people, but even from what little she knew about him, she would have put her life on the line to bet he was going to eat it all himself. It was a little unnerving to say the least.

"I can see that..." The girl mumbled under her breath. Unable to comprehend the problem with the unnatural consumption of sugar in his position, he continued to smile.

"You're not going to finish that right?"

Aware of his gaze fixated on her unfinished snack, Aden shook her head, "No, no you can have it if you want." She replied handing it over without complaint. Honey took her offering gratefully, both hands now completely full. Mori had one as well, and Aden could only pray it was for himself.

"Thanks!"

Aden sighed, "No problem."

Watching the tiny high-schooler devour his prey, she didn't take notice of a rather curious Kaito's approach until he was standing beside her with a very inquisitive expression. "You know these guys Aden?" He pressed quizzically, blue eyes bouncing from one to the other.

Aden wrung her hands awkwardly, "Sort of, they're just-"

"We go to school with her!" Honey blared proudly before she could finish. Mori backed him up with a "that's right" kind of look.

Kaito raised a brow in response while Aden fought off the impel to slap a palm to her face. She really hadn't planned to introduce them, but now it appeared she had no choice.

"Wait...how old are you?" He gawked, pointer finger flickering back and forth between the newcomers.

"Seventeen." Mori supplied in an no nonsense tone.

Kaito didn't appear to have any trouble believing Mori's age, however he stared hard at the little blond deep in thought, "That doesn't make any- Oh never-mind." Apparently thinking about it hurt his head. Aden sympathized.

Feeling impatient, she grabbed Kaito's wrist preparing to make her departure, "Nice talking to you guys and all, but we should probably go now." She interrupted, pulling on her friends arm. Kaito dug his heels into the concrete stubbornly.

"But I don't even know their names yet!" He protested, frowning.

"That one's Takashi, and that one's Honey, now you know, so let's leave." He looked anything but satisfied with the brief introductions, however for a moment Aden thought she would succeed in making an escape. That was until she heard Honey speak again.

"You don't really have to go do you?" He replied looking slightly crestfallen, "We were just going to the park to meet up with everyone else. I have an idea, you guys should come with!" The thought alone perked him back up again.

Aden stopped, "The park?"

"Uh huh, we're going to learn some new commoners games while it's still warm out, it was Tamaki's idea."

"_Of course it was..." _She growled mentally.

Opening her mouth, Aden was preparing to politely decline his request when Kaito butted it, "I don't know who Tamaki is...but that sounds like it could be fun, after all we don't have anything better to do."

Instantly tiny alarm bells went off in her head and laughing dryly, Aden elbowed him lightly in the side, "What are you talking about, we have _plenty_ to do! We're far to busy to do anything today..." She spoke quickly hoping he would get the hint.

"We are? I'm pretty sure you said you didn't have anything planned."

Evidently he didn't.

"That's great! It'll be even better with more people." Honey cheered.

Aden couldn't ever remember wanting to give Kaito a swift kick in the ass, however that very second she wanted nothing more. Well, there was a first for everything wasn't there? Crossing her arms, she huffed and glared at the sidewalk until she picked up on the silence. Lifting her head, she noticed all three gazes staring at her expectantly.

"Well?" She heard Kaito speak. They were obviously waiting to hear her thoughts on the matter.

The girl shuffled with unease, well she knew what she _wanted_ to say but with looks like that it was suddenly much more difficult. No doubt she'd look like a complete jerk if she told them otherwise and while playing the bad guy typically didn't bother her, this was really putting her on the spot. Taking a deep breath, she looked away and at last Aden replied.

"Fine."

It was quiet and extremely reluctant, but Honey looked overjoyed anyway.

"Yay!" He acclaimed loudly, the ground beneath his feet speckling with drops of ice cream. To celebrate he took an inhumanly large bite. But when his eyes found Kaito again, it quickly occurred to him that he didn't know who the boy was in the least bit. This seemed to register with Kaito as well for he gave a nervous chuckle and scratched the back of his neck.

"Oh yeah, I'm Kaito by the way, Aden's friend." He supplied hurriedly. Thankfully gaining Honey's trust was a piece of cake...no pun intended.

"Mitsukuni, I think we should be leaving now if we want to get there on time."

"Huh? Oh, good idea Mori," Honey murmured, "Come on guys, you can ride with us if you like."

Once both Aden and Kaito had retrieved their bicycles, they followed the cousins, Aden at a much more grudging pace, to the polished limo attracting much attention on the street. Noticing their approach, the small group of children who'd been admiring the vehicle scattered, but it was still very much the victim to curious eyes.

Halting at the rear, Mori held open the door for Honey who clambered in skillfully keeping both cones intact. "What about the bikes?" Kaito asked out of the blue. He received his answer when Mori lifted the entire thing with one hand and walked it to the trunk which was surprisingly big. Hands free, Kaito joined Honey inside waiting for Aden.

"Come on Aden, there's a lot of room in here!" He called, unable to keep the excitement from his voice, he'd never been in such a fancy car after all. Aden hesitated and shook her head, "No, I'll just ride there."

"Why? It'll be a lot faster this way."

"It won't take me long." She insisted roughly.

Kaito sighed, He knew it was no use to argue with her once she'd made up her mind. "Alright, see you there then." He added. Part of him felt a little bad for not going with her, but it wasn't his fault she was being so difficult, it was just a short car ride, no big deal. Though when he thought about, he realized he didn't think he'd ever seen Aden get in car. Strange really.

Deciding she'd better get a head start, Aden mounted the bike and headed off without another word, a confused Mori watching as she disappeared in a flash.

"She'll get there." Kaito reassured from his seat. Shrugging, Mori just nodded and ducked inside, shutting the door after him.

...

As it turn's out, Aden did manage to arrive, even if she had considered just turning back multiple times. It was a tempting notion, but she wasn't going to abandon Kaito. So with that decided, she wheeled her way into the park, which wasn't easy considering she was obtaining some major stomach cramps while doing so. From that day on she promised herself never to eat so much again.

Spotting a bike rack, she stashed the trusty means of transportation and walked toward the parked limo, which had only just showed up about eight minutes before herself. There the group of three stood waiting patiently, Mori lounging about and Honey talking animatedly to Kaito until he noticed Aden's approach.

"Aden, you made it!"

Hands in her pockets, she looked around, brow slightly furrowed, "Sooo, where'd everyone else go? I thought you were meeting them here."

"They're coming, I'm sure."

Aden wasn't really positive this was the answer she wanted to hear, but she sat down on a nearby bench to kill time anyway. Thankfully, or not so much depending on the view, they didn't have to wait much longer.

As if on cue she caught the sounds of an approaching automobile and looked up just in time to see yet another limo curb the corner. Cutting through the parking lot, it rumbled to a stop in the space a few cars down from them. Within the next few seconds the serene park image got considerably louder.

Like a spring one of the doors crashed open and two identical brothers stumbled out, faces practically purple from lack of breath. In complete hysterics, Hikaru and Kaoru clung to each other for support, nearly falling over in their roaring fit of laughter and tripping over their own feet. Only Mori was able to keep a straight expression at the sight, Honey, Kaito and Aden all staring wide eyed.

Their chance to ask any questions however was taken when a rampaging Tamaki exploded from the inside looking anything but amused. "YOU LITTLE FIENDS!" He bellowed, pointing a finger accusingly at the brothers. Upon seeing this, their laughter grew louder aggravating him furthermore, "How dare you! I'm never riding with either of you EVER again!" He exclaimed in a melodramatic manner. Aden and Kaito looked at each other, completely stumped. For awhile they were forced to watch the ridiculous scene play out until Kyoya appeared.

"Um...what are they doing...?" Honey squeaked.

Kyoya, who didn't even take the time to glance at his fellow passengers, simply strolled over to the rest of the group looking completely unmoved. "Hikaru and Kaoru managed to get their hands on a small jar of pepper for whatever reason, it exploded in Tamaki's face." He informed them, readjusting his glasses as he did so.

"You should have seen it!" Kaoru breathed, "He was sneezing the whole way!"

"Yeah? Well let's see how you react when someone throws a bunch of pepper in YOUR face! Why did you even have that in the first place?" The angry Host king ranted.

Hikaru and Kaoru looked at each other and back, shrugging.

"We don't know." They answered as if it were no big deal at a. Thus the arguing continued.

Trying his best to ignore the yelling in the background, Honey addressed Kyoya happily, "Oh, and we brought Aden and her friend along by the way!"

Just then noticing the teens standing on the sidewalk in silence, Kyoya looked faintly surprised to see them. Whether it was because of the fact that they actually got Aden to come, or simply that Aden actually _had_ a friend in the first place was unknown, but as soon as it had come the tiny change of expression left him.

Adopting a polite smile, he acknowledged Kaito, "So sorry about this," He spoke smoothly holding out a hand, "I'm Kyoya Ootori."

Hearing the name, a tiny flicker of recognition crossed Kaito's face and he took his hand in return, "Kaito." He replied, not bothering to give a last name.

"Kaito then? Happy you decided to join us." As had become typical of the two since Aden had joined the group, he pretended not to be aware of the girls agitated glare, especially in the presence of a stranger. Aden on the other hand had no problem freely expressing her dislike for him.

Finally Tamaki, Hikaru and Kaoru seemed to be finished for they appeared just in time to hear Kaito introduce himself. Almost like he'd become a new discovery, the twins leaned in scrutinizing the boy closely. Kaito took a small step backward.

"So you're Aden's friend?"

"...As in, boyfriend?"

Immediately the color of Kaito's face changed to a rather pinker shade, but it was Aden who answered.

"NO! That's just...stupid! He's just a friend okay?" She snapped. The brothers smirked.

"Fine, you don't have to be so dramatic, it was just a question, sheesh."

Eventually, after all the introductions were finished (Tamaki made sure to take extra long) Kaito registered who exactly it was he'd been talking to.

"You guys must be the Host club then, right?"

Tamaki perked up, "The one and only! Why, does Aden talk about us?" He asked looking hopeful.

"Ugh, enough of this! Are we going to do something or just stand around and grow roots?" Aden grumbled.

Hikaru grinned, "Yup, we're going to play kickball!" He announced seemingly producing a ball out of absolutely nowhere. It looked completely brand new.

"Or...at least we were, but Haruhi isn't here to teach us." Kaoru added a bit more solemnly.

"Haruhi's not here? But how!" Tamaki whimpered, head wiping left and right as he tried to get a glimpse of the non existent Haruhi.

"Gee I dunno, most likely for the same reasons anybody wouldn't be here. He's probably just late." Came Aden's reply.

Honey frowned, "Aww, does that mean we can't play then?"

"Actually, Aden and I could show you if you'd like."

Hearing Kaito's offer, everyone turned to look in his direction, including a gawking Aden. Since when did she volunteer for this crap?

"Really?"

"Sure, why not? It's actually really easy."

And so with that, Kaito elected to teach the strange band of boys how to play the game. Aden wasn't pleased.

...

In the end, most of their time was used up trying to explain the rules, which everyone except Tamaki seemed to understand. Every few words, or so it seemed, he would insist on asking a _"But what if..."_ question. It wasn't until about the tenth question when Aden, unable to take anymore, told him to shut up. After that he kept his mouth closed, and though they wouldn't say anything out loud, the others were secretly relieved not to suffer through anymore.

When he was finally certain that they had gotten the just of the subject, Kaito marked off four bases, which consisted of a tree, a big rock, a picnic table and another tree respectively. Finishing off that task, the group got into teams, one of which was made up of Mori, Kaoru and Aden, and the other Kaito, Hikaru, Honey and Tamaki. The teams would have been even numbered, but Kyoya had walked off long before they'd even started causally advising them that he would rather not indulge in their game. Therefore they played without him, which was completely fine by Aden.

In the beginning, it was nothing but chaos, however soon enough the Hosts got the hang of things and amazingly enough managed to turn it into a pretty decent game, with a few little flaws of course. For one thing, nobody could manage to tag the energetic Honey who got a home run almost every single time his turn came around, and for another, though he seemed to be quite good at it, Tamaki really took his kicking to heart.

"Gahhh! For goodness sake Tamaki, the fields in here, not out there!" Aden scolded for the umpteenth time as they watched their only ball go sailing over the trees. That one had to be a record.

"Eh, sorry, sorry, I'll get it!" He apologized, but was pulled back by Aden who'd been standing behind him.

"No, I'll get it, wouldn't want you to get lost or anything." Really, the park wasn't even that big, but with him, she wouldn't have doubted it to be possible. Pinpointing the direction she'd seen it flying, Aden marched away in search of the lost object before anyone else could say otherwise.

Deciding to take her time, she was glad to see that there was a small gravel path saving her from enduring what would have been stomping around in the undergrowth. It was peaceful, she wouldn't deny it, and the only people she saw were mostly couples or the elderly taking a walk, but she had to stay focused on her chore.

Unfortunately the ball seemed to have traveled a lot farther then she thought and soon with no sight of the thing, frustration took over. Thoroughly searching to the best of her abilities, it wasn't until she came out on the other side of the woods did she see it. Stretched out in front of her in what she supposed would be near the center of the park, was a wide pond, the ball floating neatly on the calm surface near one of the path bridges.

Running to the wooden structure, Aden stopped and peered over the edge. It wasn't moving, just sitting, taunting her as it bobbed. It was much to far down for her to reach, but to close from the bank to snatch up without getting in the water, and Aden really didn't want to find out how deep it was.

A little ticked off, she straightened and looked around for something to help her out. She found aid in the form of a sturdy looking branch which appeared just long enough to reach the ball and push it to the bank if she tried hard enough. Grabbing it, Aden returned to the bridge and leaned over the rail, undone hair falling over her face. Reaching out with the stick, she attempted to put her plan into action.

It seemed only a few inches short, so leaning over farther, Aden tapped at the object, only her knees keeping her from going over the edge.

"Come on...almost...got it..." She breathed, trying in vain to make it work. Feeling she was nearly there, Aden let herself drop barley an inch further thinking she'd be okay, she might have gotten it to had her foot not slipped.

Stomach lurching, Aden yelped when she felt herself falling forward, trying desperately to push herself back again and reverse the action. But it was already to late.

Like an over-sized rock, she plummeted over the side, splashing face first into the water before she could even take a breath. Straightaway she was plunged into murky darkness, the sounds of the park replaced by bubbling and nothingness. Completely shocked, Aden instinctively opened her mouth only to take in a huge gulp of muddy water that rushed down her throat. Unsure which way was up and which was down, she kicked and clawed at random, dizzy and confused. She thought she'd glimpsed light, but her flailing did no good. She'd never taken a swimming lesson in her life, and it showed.

Panicking, Aden pushed off with both feet hoping to touch the bottom, but the only thing she found were long, rubbery weeds that tangled themselves around her ankles as she struggled. Freaked, she tried to make noise, but only produced a handful of bubbles as more air escaped her lungs. Weighed down by her shoes and cloths, she reached toward what she hoped was the surface, but discovered she'd already pulled herself to far down. In response, Aden's heart beat faster, any logical thinking she may have had diminished to make way for enveloping terror. Without any real sense as to what she was doing, her energy was leaving her fast, chest aching. For the longest time the only thing she could process was that she was going to drowned, her life was going to end pathetically short in this very pond.

Tiring, her desperate movements slowed, her body growing sluggish. Even when she felt something grab her, Aden's feeble actions ceased.

Wait...something, grabbing her...lifting her? By the time her oxygen deprived brain was able to click, someone was already raising her above the surface. The exact instant she felt air touch her face, Aden sucked in as much as she could, which turned into a bizarre mixture of breathing, coughing and sputtering. She still wasn't exactly positive what was happening, but knowing she wanted to get as far away from the water as possible, she clung to the unknown being like her life depended on it, which in her mind, it did. Afraid she'd fall back in if she let go, Aden dug her fingers into what she could only guess to be their back and shoulder.

"Ouch! Just calm down would you?"

Aden couldn't see his face, but the voice was quite relaxed despite the fact that she wasn't, and it was at the same time surprisingly familiar. Though she still continued to hyperventilate, she eased up on her grip a little when she felt that they were moving, eyes shut tight.

"You can let go now if you'd like, I'm sure you can touch here." She heard him say, probably hopeful she'd stop trying to suffocate him. Experimentally Aden cracked open one eye lid, but when she saw they were still standing in the water, she closed it again and buried her nails into clothing as if he were planning to drop her without consent.

In response he made a noise somewhere between an exasperated sigh and a hiss of pain and without much of a choice, continued to approach the bank. Aden meanwhile focused on breathing like a normal human again.

When they'd at last reached shore, she felt him set her down gently and feeling solid ground beneath her, she unlatched herself. Both eyes opening, the first thing Aden did was turn and spit up what was left of the water she'd consumed. This done, she let herself unwind and collapsed so she was laying on her back, face to the sky as her chest rose and fell gratefully. Never in her life did she think she'd ever been so happy to feel grass. It wasn't until a long shadow had come to stand beside her did Aden begin to wonder who'd bothered to rescue her. Curiously she turned her head to glimpse the figure better, but immediately wished she hadn't.

Seeking to get the feeling back in his shoulder, Kyoya sat down massaging his arm and neck, equally as sopped as the previously drowning girl. Aden was speechless, and noticing she'd finally started making sense of things again, his gray eyes flickered in her direction.

"There was no need to hang on so tight," He muttered, "I'm certain you'll have given me some nice bruises."

Aden looked astonished, "_You_ saved me?"

Removing a shoe, he peeled off his sock and began to wring it out, "Yes, as unpleasant an experience as that was, I wasn't about to let you drown. Obviously you haven't the slightest clue how to swim."

Aden looked away with a much more cross expression, "Well...no..." She wasn't going to deny it considering she'd already made it quite painfully evident. It wasn't so much the fact that she couldn't swim that ashamed her as it was who'd found out. Kyoya already thought she was an imbecile, this incident wasn't going to help lift that anytime soon.

Sick of her sweatshirt sticking to her arms, Aden tore off the water logged piece of clothing and both of them sat in complete silence as they did their best to dry off. Eventually however, Aden spoke again, though it was so quiet it was a miracle Kyoya managed to pick it up.

"Sorry..."

"Pardon?"

Tensing, Aden pretended to pick at the grass instead of make eye contact, "I said...sorry," She murmured, "Sorry you had to do that."

Taking off his glasses, he exhaled quietly and proceeded to cleanse them on his shirt. It was odd hearing Aden apologize, and almost amusing to see how much effort it took her. "Yeah well, I dearly hope you won't be trying that again anytime soon. Rescuing you really isn't my idea of fun."

Aden snorted, "Trust me, you couldn't pay me enough." She emphasized, shivering as she mentally replayed the experience. Part of her wanted to get up and shake it off, but the other half just wanted to lie down and sleep for a million years, and all because of that stupid ball. Deciding she didn't want to get up yet, Aden laid down again, happy she'd chosen a warm day to get dunked instead of a cold one. Again she was silent until yet another thought crossed her mind.

"Hey...uh, Kyoya?" She spoke tentatively, her back to the boy.

"Hmm?"

Aden took a long pause before carrying on, "Could you maybe not tell anyone that I...uh, that I..."

"That you almost got yourself killed?"

She nodded.

Satisfied with their condition, Kyoya placed his glasses back in their original place before allowing his gaze to travel farther off into the distance, not that there was anything that interesting to look at. "If that's what you want. I assure you it wouldn't bring any particular benefit to me to do so." He replied plainly.

Although he couldn't see it, Aden had allowed herself the tiniest of smiles.

"Thanks jerk-face."

"You're welcome."

* * *

**Seeee? Icky writing. I could point out a billion things wrong here, but I won't, because I don't think anybody cares and it would take to long.  
**

**And holy crap, something actually happened! Yes, nothing like near death experience to make you a little friendlier I guess... or at least in this odd fic anyway.**

**(*) Oh yes I did just totally burn my own OC...couldn't resist.**

**CHARACTER COMMENTARY**

**Aden: **...**  
SBH: **What?**  
Aden: **I don't like you, I don't like you at all.**  
SBH: **Gee, thanks a bunch. I'm SO sorry for letting you two get along for once.**  
Aden: **Good, you should be. So when do I get to, you know, do something cool?**  
SBH: **Let me think about that ...**  
Aden: **-waiting with arms crossed-**  
Kyoya: **This could take a while.**  
Honey: **Great, in the meantime we can eat cake!**  
SBH: **I like that idea.**  
Aden: **Answer my question dammit!**  
Kyoya: **She doesn't have an answer to that question. It's like asking when a pig gets to fly.**  
SBH: **-speaking with a mouthful of cake- It will happen ... eventually.**  
Aden: **I'M NOT A PIG!**  
Kyoya: **... That's not what I said.**  
Aden: **But it's definitely what you meant to say!**  
Kyoya: **This is wasting my time. -walks away-**  
Aden: **YOU CAN'T JUST INSULT SOMEONE AND LEAVE, COME BACK!**  
SBH: **Hmmm ...**  
Haruhi: **This is ridiculous, next chapter please?****


	6. The Gender Quest

**Blahhh, sorry it took so long to get the chapter up! I actually had a lot going on for once, not to mention I got sick about two times so yeah. Anyway, I don't really care about my excuses so I don't think you do either. And by the way, I loved those reviews, they really made my day. Like I said at the beginning of the story, I don't need them, but that doesn't mean I don't still love them. Trust me there's no better way to get someone to update their story then by saying stuff like that. :3**

**MizLizzi:** I'm happy I could help you out then, I seem to have a hard time finding OHSHC fics that interest me as well.

**ColonKellyHiggensGoil304:** I can't imagine why, but thanks anyway! Your comment really made me smile.

**Ciel Blanche:** I know, and apparently Aden really enjoys using it. As for the long chapters, well I think that's what most people like so I try to make them worth the read.

**ZomTatoZom:** (...Barky you totally hogged the review box with your fat comment...lmao.) If anybody should be the author, it's you m'kay? -tapes mouth shut- And I'm not being modest either. Oh, and I'm starting to like Aden too, she's just so...anti-marysue it's funny. In fact, she's kind of a loser, but I like it. c:

* * *

**Chapter Six**

THE GENDER QUEST

_(In which Aden wants her question answered...NOW.)_

That night after her marvelous adventure in the park, Aden had the most interesting of dreams to say the least. Apparently a mixture of too much ice cream, kick ball and a near drowning experience did something disturbingly to your brain.

In said dream, the adolescent was the soul manager of what she could only guess to be a chocolate plant...that served spaghetti. As if this little problem wasn't enough, each and everyone of her employees happened to be freakishly giant squirrels with the occasional chipmunk mixed amongst them. She didn't really want to count the jellyfish janitor because she found herself questioning his level of...er, aliveness. But other then that, the pasta (or was it a chocolate?) factory appeared to be running normally. In fact, she was quite proud of her ability to run such a chaotic mess if she did say so herself.

That was until a certain old man showed up demanding she use her world renown swimming abilities to save the countries last cookie from the horrible hobo king. Despite her frantic attempts to convince him these skills didn't exist, Aden was forced into a mission to save the earth from an all out desert apocalypse. To make matters even worse, the hobo king lived at the bottom of the ocean, his mighty empire guarded by miles and miles of pickles.

Completely ignoring her shouts, she was dropped headfirst into the Pacific and sunk to the bottom where she encountered the terrible tyrant himself. After a long, heart felt conversation, she learned the man merely wanted to live out his life long dream of becoming the best pizza man the world had yet to see, which really had nothing to do with cookies at all.

In the end Aden helped the screwy guy to realize the error of his ways and returned to the surface having saved everyone. That done, the planet decided to explode anyway. Regretfully her last words were "ketchup."

When Aden awoke, she couldn't help but feel a little more then extremely confused, an instant headache rising to greet her. It seemed like she'd been asleep for years, give or take a few, and somehow she still felt drained. Letting out a long, incredibly irritated groan, she pulled the covers over her face and buried herself back amongst the bedding regardless of the fact she could clearly see the morning sun breaking through the drapes. She wanted nothing more then to stay laying in that exact spot for the rest of the day. Thankfully it was Sunday, so she, Aden, was going to do just that.

Mouth stretching in a wide yawn, she situated herself into a more comforting position, closed her eyes, and prepared to nap the next twenty-four hours away...void of any stupid dreams if she could help it. Thankfully sleep came easily enough and it wasn't long before Aden was drifting away again. Of course this was until she was rudely torn from her coming slumber by the violent tapping of a fist on her wooden door.

"Miss Eluekhart?" Came the sound of a women's nervous voice. Instantly she attached it to that of one of the younger maids who spent her employed days around her fathers estate; Chizue Asami. Hoping she'd take the hint and leave, Aden ignored her, but to no avail.

Once again the door rattled, "Er...Miss Eluekhart, Miss Eluekhart are you awake?" Figuring Chizue would remain persistent until she got what she wanted, Aden answered.

"What'd you want?" Aden growled, wincing when the words came out a tad more hostile then she'd originally planned. Honestly she quite liked Chizue, but at the moment her desire for rest outweighed her acquaintance with the polite maid. Chizue hesitated before speaking again.

"I'm truly sorry miss, but I'm afraid if you don't wake up, you'll be late for school."

Aden snorted trying her best to keep a cool head, "Chizue, it's the weekend."

From the other side of the door she heard the speaker clear her throat, "Well...uh, you see Miss Eluekhart, it's actually Monday." Letting the truth of such a sentence soak in, Aden was suddenly sitting up head snapping sideways to find her alarm clock. Much to her distress, if Chizue was correct, then she had exactly ten minutes to get herself to class on time. Normally it wouldn't have bothered her really, but even Aden knew she'd already missed enough school as it was.

"Oh shit!"

Practically leaping off her mattress, Aden pounced upon her dresser throwing open drawers at random. Curiously Chizue opened the door only to side step rapidly when she was attacked by a rain of flying clothing. Watching in silence as her boss's daughter fumbled around with shirts and pants, she smoothed out her uniform, hands folded together, "Would you like some breakfast?" She asked. Aden, who by now was struggling to fit herself with a top, nodded.

"That'd be nice." She responded hurriedly. Tipping in a small bow, Chizue scuttled away leaving Aden to wrestle with her clothes.

Succeeding in fitting herself with mismatched attire, she grabbed some socks, one from the bed and one from the floor, then she pulled on the first and moved to the second. Due to her frantic nature, she found dressing her left foot troublesome and hopped about wildly on one leg before at last achieving her goal.

Rushing to the door, she stopped herself halfway down the hallway and with second thoughts returned to her room. Running to her private bathroom, Aden turned on the sink and sloppily splashed cold water over her face before yanking a hairbrush through her blonde head and zipping out again. Uplifting nearly every previously flattened rug on her way to the staircase, she hopped on the rail and slid the rest of the way down jumping from the end to land loudly on both feet. It was just about this time that Chizue exited the kitchen with a plate of freshly buttered toast in hand. Seeing Aden, the maid blinked.

"Are you sure that's appropriate school-wear?" It was more so a statement then a question. Having not paid attention to what she put on, Aden surveyed herself briefly.

Strangely enough, she was wearing a long-sleeved shirt about two times bigger then the norm, a sporty looking pair of mens shorts and two different colored socks, one long and yellow, the other short and gray. Still, it didn't really matter because she was quite short on time.

Shrugging, she located her school bag and snatched up a piece of toast, jamming the food in her mouth. "Fwanks Hizue!" She slurred through a mouthful of bread.

Chizue smiled, "Your welcome, would you like me to get the chauffeur for you? It'll be faster if you go by car."

Opening the front door, Aden swallowed and shook her head, "No, no it's alright I'll take my bike like I usually do." Then before Chizue could get a chance to object, Aden made her leave in search of the much loved bicycle.

While she could never say she regretted biking to school, Aden did find herself wishing she'd have taken the time to search for a jacket in her hurry to escape the house. Whatever little bit of sunshine that had shone itself the day before seemed to have completely disappeared, the sky clogged with gray clouds shoved about by the stubborn autumn wind. Somewhere in the back of her mind she subconsciously found herself picturing the thick woolen scarf she just knew had to be in her closet, if only she'd thought about it ahead of time.

That being said, despite the chill, Aden managed to reach Ouran with about twenty seconds to spare, her entrance made dramatic when she burst into the classroom completely lost for breath. Doing her best to ignore the stares, she brushed stray leaves from her wind battered hair, gathered up her bag and took her seat in the empty desk beside Haruhi. Trying to pretend that coming into class looking as if she'd just battled a tornado was a daily occurrence, Aden let out a much relieved sigh and slumped backwards happy to find she made it in time for attendance.

When it came time to begin math however, Aden rustled around in her things to discover she was short a pencil and any other writing utensil she might have had. "Really? Really!" She wailed receiving a shush from not only the teacher but half the class.

Sitting up, Aden rolled her eyes and crossed her arms when suddenly she felt a light tap on her shoulder. Glancing to her right, she saw that Haruhi was generously offering her one of his.

"Here, you can borrow this one." He whispered.

Aden smiled, "Thanks!" Graciously taking it, she relaxed again. At least she had someone to rely on, because it'd become quite apparent she couldn't rely on herself.

Falling silent as class began, Aden was reminded how seeing Haruhi made her think of the conversation she'd had with Katio the day they'd been returning home from the park. As it turns out, Haruhi had shown up to play, late only because he'd forgotten to tell them about a quick errand to the market. After the usual fatherly embracing from Tamaki (who'd literally almost showered them with tears of joy) the group introduced Kaito which was about the time a still much soaked Aden and Kyoya showed up. As imagined, they received some odd looks. Even so, as he'd promised, Kyoya kept to his word and said nothing about Aden's little incident leaving her to try and explain why it was exactly she left dry, and came back...not so dry. What could have easily been a simple explanation turned into something much more confusing, but everyone decided to forget about it anyway in fear Aden would try to bore them to death with another ridiculous story. So in the end the whole subject was just dropped and the group resumed playing.

Kaito, as he freely expressed to Aden, had a lot of fun and did most of the speaking on the way home. For the most part Aden wasn't listening to half of what came out of his mouth, but there was one thing in particular that caught her interest. No matter what she said, Katio seemed to be convinced Fujioka was a girl. While she secretly had her doubts as well, Aden insisted on arguing otherwise, mostly because she felt it would be a little ridiculous if this whole time she'd been made to think wrong. Which really got her thinking and eventually after taking the ride home to reflect on it, she decided she was going to find the answer once and for all. It wasn't like she thought it mattered if he was male or female, because Aden would have liked him either way. It was simply the idea that she was being kept in the dark that really drove her nuts. Kind of like a kid seeing their presents under the christmas tree and yet never knowing what lie under the wrapping...basically it was just frustrating was all.

Mind wandering to the subject once again as she sat in her desk, Aden stared out the window, the eraser end of her pencil shoved into her chin. She'd already ruled out just asking Haruhi for a couple of reasons. One, he could still lie to her, and two, no doubt there'd be some level of awkwardness involved. Perhaps if she tried to ask another member of the Host club? Surely they would know. So content in her own world of thought, Aden failed to notice how obvious it was she wasn't paying the least bit attention.

"Aden! Aden are you listening?"

Hearing the teachers voice, Aden jumped bumping her knees hard on the desk, "What? Oh, sorry!" She apologized quickly earning a few muffled laughs from the back of the classroom. Satisfied, the teacher turned away again droning on about algebra while Aden was left to quickly scribble down a few numbers. One way or another she was going to know.

For whatever reason, that particular Monday was a busy one for the Host's, Aden blamed it on the bad weather figuring Ourans population of high-school girls felt the need for a little cheering up that day. This bothered few in Music Room #3 save for the only person who hadn't showed up voluntarily (aside from Haruhi) which was of course, poor Aden.

While everyone else in the club opted to entertain the giggly females, Aden was left with the job of a waitress who also happened to be part janitor much to her displeasure. Only about an hour into it and so far she supposed she'd circled the room with her dust pan and snack tray about a thousand times over as if she were on some kind of track. In fact, she was shocked she hadn't already wore a hole in the floor with the amount of times she'd raced across the shiny surface. Already Aden had lost count of the trips she'd made to Honey's table with various cakes and pastries, not to mention she had yet to understand Tamaki's uncanny fascination with commoners coffee (personally she had no taste for the foul stuff.) And when she wasn't picking up empty cups of tea, she was suddenly being forced to play the infamous, "which one is Hikaru" game. She could have sworn she'd taken part in their odd past time at least eight times already and had still yet to win. Apparently the two of them found it utterly hilarious...Aden not so much.

So when at last it looked as if she might get a short break, Aden took full advantage of the situation. Slinking to the far corner of the room, she inhaled deeply more then happy to have her own personal bubble back again. It was this type of environment that politely reminded her why she'd never been the type of girl to enjoy a big party. What others found entertaining about being squashed in with an oversized group she would never know.

Head cleared and functioning, Aden found herself remembering what she'd been meaning to do from the first second she got there. Yet though she had been within their presence for little more then half an hour, Aden hadn't managed to ask any of the boys a single question about Haruhi. Mildly frustrated with herself, she studied the crowd bitterly. There was no way she was going to get a chance now, not if she didn't want to stick herself with an audience that was. They were all to immersed with the guests, even Kyoya was...wait, actually on second thought where was he? Now that she thought about it, she didn't think she'd glimpsed him once.

Mostly out of curiosity Aden did a vague search for the shadowy vice president, doubtful she'd find a trace. Amazingly enough however after a short time of looking, she did manage to spot him. Technically he wasn't even in the music room but instead stowed away behind the cracked doors of one of the connecting rooms, hidden from all except those who actually bothered to look apparently.

Quietly Aden considered trying to worm an answer to her oh so important question out of Kyoya. Then again, she probably had a better chance at sprouting wings then she did getting him to tell her anything. Even so, it wasn't like it could really hurt to try...could it? They did seem to be on more neutral terms after all. Shrugging, Aden decided she would test her luck (which we all know really isn't that good) and talk with him. Not like she really wanted to, she just wanted to complete her self elected quest.

Pulling open one of the doors a smidgen more. Aden popped her head in. As he had been the day of her unexpected visit, Kyoya was glued to his valued laptop, however she couldn't help but notice he seemed slightly tense for lack of a better word. Figuring he knew she was there, she invited herself in and closed the doors behind her for it was quite noisy on the other side. He showed not a sign to acknowledge her approach just as she suspected he would leaving her to stand awkwardly while he taped away at the keyboard and she tried to think of something to say.

"Erm...hey." Aden greeted. Obviously not the smoothest of words on her part. Despite this, Kyoya ignored her probably hoping she would just leave.

She didn't.

Instead striking a sudden vain of bravery, she moved closer until she was standing behind the screen. Peering at him from over the device, Aden watched his concentrated facial expression further angered as he continued to pretend she didn't exist. Loudly she cleared her throat, "I was just wondering if you could answer my-"

"No."

And just like that Aden's grave attempt at being calm shattered, "I didn't even get to finish!" She protested.

"I'm busy, so if you wouldn't mind leaving..."

"It's just one freaking question! It'll only take a second!" Aden seethed, and finally Kyoya decided to meet her glare. Only, she kind of wished he didn't because he'd somehow managed to conjure a look cold enough even to creep her out; That was saying something. For all the world it looked like she'd digested his favorite notebook.

Aden rolled her eyes, "Alright, alright, I get the message." She grumbled. She couldn't help but think how he would probably have taken the time to answer anybody else's question, but hers? Nooooo, goodness knows that would be a crime.

Giving up, she was about to make her exit when something on the table caught her eye. Something small, silver and shaped like a half moon, something that should have been in her possession. Yes Aden had indeed coincidentally happened upon her necklace. Stopping, she stared at it fondly not sure whether to be happy it was still well or angry because seeing it reminded her Kyoya still had it. Silently she fought with herself. It was right there, she could just take it! The notion was so tempting. However the dream was smashed when her trinkets captor snatched it up and dropped it in his pocket.

"I believe you were going?"

"But...but...that's not fair!" Aden whined glaring down at him. This didn't last for much longer because soon Kyoya was standing and the role of taller person swapped dramatically.

"Are you going to leave or do I have to do it for you?"

"Stop changing the subject! Besides, what makes you think I was going to take it? What, I can't look at it? It is _mine_ you know, remember?" She ranted. She really had a lot more to say but clearly he didn't want to hear it. Sighing, he easily lifted the much smaller girl by the arms and walked her back to the door. Mind you Aden continued her fruitless tirade the entire way there until she was dropped just outside the room.

"What do you think your doing? Answer me!"

In response, Kyoya simply closed the doors again leaving Aden to stare at smooth wood not an inch from her face.

"HEY! I wasn't done talking to you jerk-face!" She yelled into the solid object. Arms crossed Aden leaned back adopting her trademark sour expression. Well hadn't that just gone great? Not only did she yet to have an answer to her inquiry, but now she felt like punching someone, preferably a specific Ootori someone. It was hard to believe that just yesterday they'd actually had a decent conversation. So much for that.

When she wasn't playing housekeeper, the rest of Aden's time was spent deciding how to confront Haruhi. In the end she figured she'd just keep it simple and ask him herself the best she could. There was always the option of letting it go, but Aden wasn't about to give up, mostly because the stubborn part of her longed to prove Kaito wrong.

Therefore as soon as everyone was preparing to leave, Aden caught up with Haruhi as he was walking down the hall slowing to match his pace. "Hi Haruhi," She said in the happiest tone she could muster, "Going home then?

"Huh? Oh hi Aden, yeah, that's what I was planning to do." He replied leisurely, greeting her with a small smile. Aden nodded and didn't say anything more. Well she could just ask him, he was right there after all, it was the perfect chance. But still she held back. What if he really was a girl, what if she accidentally upset him if she asked? For all she knew it might have been offensive. She hadn't thought of that before. Giving Kyoya a hard time was a breeze, but she didn't want to say anything to unnerve Haruhi if she could help it. Aden already had little friends as it was.

"Uh Aden, are you okay?"

Not having noticed her far off behavior, Aden shook her head rapidly, "Yeah, yeah I'm fine." She said quickly, laughing. They were already reaching the school's front doors, she needed more time. Without much thinking, Aden was speaking again, "Actually I do have a question..."

"Yeah?"

"Are you...doing anything today? I mean it's okay if you don't want to, but maybe we could uh...hang out?"

Haruhi looked a slightly surprised, "Well, I do have to stop at the grocery store. But if that's okay with you then I don't mind...I guess."

"Oh no, that's fine." Aden responded hurriedly. Truthfully she hadn't been to a grocery store in ages, so she wasn't lying, it wouldn't bother her. If anything it would give her more time to think.

Haruhi honestly hadn't a clue why it was Aden was so persistent to follow her, nor why she was acting so funny. Then again, when wasn't she acting strange? The western born girl changed moods almost as fast as Tamaki, it was like someone had implanted a switch in her head. Still, it really was no matter to her, Aden's presence didn't bother her or anything...as long as she wasn't yelling at anyone.

Walking down the sidewalk, Haruhi glanced upwards to get a good look at the sky. It hadn't changed much from that morning, still gray as a rock. In the beginning she'd been half afraid it might storm, but as of now it didn't seem to be showing any signs of raining anytime soon which was actually quite a relief. A little cold she could handle, thunderstorms not so much.

Just minding her own business, Aden walked beside her, the well used bike creaking as she pushed it along. She wasn't really dressed for the weather, in fact, she wasn't really dressed for much anything aside from maybe a poor attempt at a Halloween costume. It was much to obvious she'd been in a hurry that morning much to her amusement. Oh well, Haruhi supposed it could be worse.

It wasn't long before the two of them reached the small store Haruhi usually used to buy her food and after waiting for Aden to prop her bike against the wall, they entered.

"It shouldn't take long, I just need a couple of things." Haruhi assured digging in her bag and pulling out a small list.

"Okay, can I help?" Aden asked politely. She gave the impression of sincere curiosity.

"Well, it's mostly just ingredients, but I suppose you could look for something, I'm not picky."

Aden brightened, "Sure! Meet you in a few minutes." And with that she was off vanishing around one of the corner isles. Hopefully she wouldn't try and pick out anything to expensive, Haruhi didn't trust anyone from Ouran would be all that good at finding bargains.

Following Aden's disappearance, Haruhi began the search for something good to make for dinner glad to find the store had a handful of fair sales that day. It was just as she was wondering how long it would take for Aden to come back that she came out of nowhere and dumped a few things into the carrying basket.

"Hold on, there's something else, be right back."

Watching her walk off again, Haruhi searched through Aden's findings. The first thing she discovered was a large bag of potato chips, followed by another bag of chips, and a package of cookies. The rest of her load consisted of candy, dips, and a number of other snacks. Beginning to wonder if all she planned on getting was junk food, Haruhi looked up to see Aden approach again, this time with a frozen pizza which she squeezed in with the rest.

"Uhhh, you know you got two bags of chips right?" Haruhi muttered.

"Don't worry, they're different flavors," Aden announced holding up both packages, "See? One's original, and one's barbecue." Evidently she didn't see anything wrong with having a banquet of junk food for supper.

Haruhi resisted the urge to sigh, "Thanks Aden...but I think I'll be good with what I've got now." Aden didn't seem to care.

"Whatever you say." She replied, gathering her load and marching away to return it all back to the original locations. If that was how she ate everyday, it was a wonder why she hadn't already dropped dead from a heart attack. Lucky for Aden she actually liked exercising. Happy Aden didn't seem to be insulted in the least bit, Haruhi returned to the front of the store to pay for her produce where she found her waiting. After buying her groceries, Haruhi thanked the cashier and left, Aden trailing behind her busily munching on gum she'd gotten with the few yen in her pants pocket.

Holding onto two bags, Haruhi waited a second or two for Aden to retrieve her bike before they set off again, this time towards Haruhi's home. While she hadn't exactly invited her, Aden continued to walk with her to the apartment not yet ready to return to her own place of living. This didn't really thrill Haruhi much, she'd already had to deal with enough rich people exploring her house, she didn't really need another one. Then again, it was just Aden, and by the looks of her wardrobe and preferred mode or transportation she wasn't as uptight as her financial status suggest she be so Haruhi didn't say anything.

Arriving in the neighborhood, she climbed the stairs to her second floor apartment building, Aden stashing her bike and following her without comment. Unlocking the door, Haruhi pushed it open and walked in slipping off her shoes as she did so.

"Here we are, it's not much, so don't expect anything." She retorted, setting the bags down on the cupboard. She wasn't really sure what kind of reaction to expect from Aden, however when she turned around, Haruhi noticed Aden seemed almost impressed.

"It's nice, I think it's great." She said, smiling as she looked around, "So comfortable, do you live here alone?" Genuinely pleased to be there, Aden took off her sneakers and poked around a bit. Trusting she wouldn't break anything, Haruhi began the task of putting her newly bought items away.

"Well, it's just me and my dad, but he's at work now," Haruhi responded, opening the fridge, "Do you want some tea? I can make some."

From one of the other rooms she heard Aden's voice, "No thanks. Got any soda?"

"Uh, no?"

"M'kay, what about milk?"

"I think so..." Haruhi murmured. Typically she used milk for cooking, but she was sure she had enough to spare. Pouring Aden a glass, she went to find her guest which wasn't hard considering the size of her apartment.

When she found her, Aden was standing in the living room holding a picture frame. Hearing Haruhi's approach, she turned around holding a picture of a little girl, "Do you have a little sister or something?" She asked holding out the photo to compare with Haruhi squinting as she did so.

Haruhi laughed, "No, I'm an only child, that's me." She answered setting the glass of milk down. But Aden didn't look amused, in fact, she looked just plain shocked. Haruhi frowned, "Uhhh, Aden?"

"I thought...I thought you were a guy?"

Haruhi blinked. Oh yeah that's right, she'd completely forgotten that this whole time Aden still believed she was a boy, nobody had ever thought it necessary to correct her. It really didn't matter to Haruhi that she'd found out, it was bound to happen some day, even so she couldn't exactly say the same for the rest of the guys. They'd been beyond determined to keep it a secret...oops.

"Awww man, Kaito was right!" Aden pouted, "Damn him."

"Kaito?"

"Yeah, he told me you were a girl the day you met him...I bet it was a lucky guess." She muttered, mostly to herself. Seeing the milk, Aden took a long sip, pausing to wipe away the white mustache and watch Haruhi with an odd look. "But, if you're a girl, then why are you pretending to be a guy...if you don't mind me asking? I mean, I know the girls uniform is ugly and all, but still..."

Haruhi just shrugged, "It's a long story."

"So...your not angry?"

"Nu uh, it's fine, no big deal."

Aden grinned, "That's good. To be honest I thought you made a pretty funky guy, I just thought you were, well gay or something like that. No offense."

"None taken."

Setting down the now empty glass, she reflected on this new bit of information, "I suppose that means Tamaki's not gay then either er...maybe."

Haruhi just chuckled, "Seeing as that's settled, we could have something to eat if your hungry?"

Aden perked up instantly, "Now that you mention it, yeah, I am kinda hungry." She admitted accompanying her into the kitchen, "You wouldn't happen to have any Cheetos would you?"

"...No."

* * *

**The American girl like's junk-food? Now there's a surprise. Not.**  
**I thought it was about time Aden get to learn Haruhi's secret...I mean it is chapter six after all. The stupid thing about the two different chip flavors made me laugh by the way, I don't know why. It's just funny to picture...and I laugh at dumb things.**

**CHARACTER COMMENTARY**

**Hikaru: **Why did it only take everyone one episode to figure out Haruhi was a girl, but it took Aden ... weeks?**  
Aden: **Well none of the other girls at the school figured it out, gosh!**  
Kaoru: **Yeah, but still ...**  
Aden: **Are you suggesting something here?**  
Hikaru&Kaoru: **Actually-**  
Haruhi: **Just drop it already, we really don't need more screaming, it was loud enough with just Tamaki around.**  
Tamaki: **THANK YOU MY DARLING DAUGHTER! -hugging Haruhi-**  
Haruhi: **That wasn't a complement!**  
Aden: **I bet I could be louder then him any day! Hey Tamaki, come here.**  
Tamaki: **Yesss?**  
Aden: **Start yelling or something, we're having a contest.**  
Tamaki: **A contest?**  
Aden: **YES!**  
Tamaki: **But I don't want to-**  
Aden: **THE TWINS HURT HARUHI!**  
Hikaru&Kaoru: **We did not!**  
Tamaki: **WHAAAAAAT? HOW COULD YOU? I KNEW YOU WERE EVIL, I KNEW YOU ALWAYS HAD BAD INTENTIONS! DADDY WILL PROTECT YOU HARUHI! BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, YADDA, YADDA BLAH ... -continues yelling-**  
Haruhi: **Great, look what you did! -covers ears-**  
Aden: **-wearing earmuffs- Hmmm, did you say something?**  
**


	7. Water The Enemy

**Wow, I haven't updated in a bit. Think of it as a really, really long intermission? I had some writers block I suppose. I was also reading through my story from the beginning and I couldn't help but think, "Gawd, I had some really retarded spelling mistakes, didn't I?" I'll have to go back and fix those eventually. Well anyway, it's back ... so, reviews?**

**Chibi-Kyuubi-Chan: **Actually, technically it's not. I started a fanfic a looong time ago on a totally different account and a totally different fandom. But, it sucked, so I guess we can say this is my first instead. :D

**ZomTatoZom: **Rofl, that IS a dream I would have isn't it? And don't ask about the shorts ... it's Aden, who the hell knows why. Oh, and as for her last name, it just came to me randomly.

**ColonKellyHigginsGoil304: **Yes, I should definitively update more often shouldn't I? To bad there's no, "anti-lazyness" pile. I'd totally buy it. :l

**Glowingsoul: **Your review made me laugh just because I thought it was funny how you gave me a nice review without even reading the story, or even knowing what OHSHC is. Thanks ... I think? xD**  
**

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

WATER; THE ENEMY

_(Complete with surprises, stuffed animals and a boy named Kandy)_

"I told you it was going to rain."

Aden, with her hair dripping and her socks soaked, threw the dark haired boy a look somewhere between that of irritated and just plain tired, "Oh shut up." She grumbled, hastily rubbing her hands together in a grave attempt to revive the feeling.

Kaito, clad in his oh so fashionable yellow rain jacket and boots, just shrugged. He may have looked a little ridiculous (the coat was a bit to small for him after all) but at least he was dry, which was a lot more then he could say for his temperamental friend.

Teeth chattering loudly, Aden glowered out from beneath a soaked sweatshirt hood. Things would have been a lot faster going had her bike not acquired a very inconvenient, very flat tire. At any rate, she still saw absolutely no reason to be visiting Ouran, on a Saturday no less! She had enough to complain about being a part of the Host's oddities on regular school days, but now she was being summoned on the weekend? Thanks to them she was out in the cold, wet and grumpy instead of curled dry and comfortable amidst the warmth of her bed. The only one who seemed excited about the situation was Kaito.

Unconsciously she glanced at him, trying her best to ignore the rubbery squeaking sound his rain proof clothing made every-time he took a step. He was really looking forward to actually seeing the inside of the private school for whatever reason. No matter how much Aden tried her best to convince him he wasn't missing out on much, he still insisted he'd nothing better to do. Oh well, it wasn't like the overly social group of Ouran boys didn't like him or anything, in fact, they seemed to enjoy his company as far as she could tell, that was once they got over the fact that he wasn't exactly rolling in riches of course.

Soon enough they arrived at Ourans ornamental gates. Kaito, who'd unsurprisingly stopped to view the pink school, cut his sight seeing short in order to follow after Aden who'd tromped toward the front doors like a little kid in the middle of bad temper tantrum.

"Uh, hey, wait up!"

Inside sheltered from the pouring rain, Aden proceeded to squeeze the water out of her hair while Kaito spun in circles doing his best to remove the snug sleeve from his left arm. "A little help?" He sighed, waving his arm about wildly.

Taking hold of the end, Aden dug her heels into the carpet. "Okay ready, one ... two .. three ... pull!" She instructed. On the bright side together they managed to free him, however not before both teens went flying in either direction to land with a couple of loud thuds right on their butts.

"Kaito, the second we get out of here, we're buying you a new coat." Aden muttered, the wet, yellow eyesore draped over her head.

Hesitantly the boy lifted his dripping jacket away from her shoulders trying his best not to laugh, "It wouldn't hurt you to lighten up a little you know." He suggested carefully. It was true, there was hardly a day that went by in which Aden wasn't frustrated with even the tiniest of things. Seriously, she could probably make eating chocolate cake seem like a chore if she really wanted. Ultimately Kaito had learned to live with it ... but still, he was beginning to wonder if constant anger would have an effect on ones health.

Standing, Aden huffed loudly. It didn't appear she was planning on taking his advice anytime soon. "Come on." She sighed. Shaking his head, Kaito quickly caught up to her again.

They walked the rest of the way in silence, twisting and turning around random corners. Of course he couldn't be sure, but Kaito was beginning to think this was her version of stalling because he could have sworn they'd passed the same plant at least twice.

At last, just as he was preparing to ask when they'd ever get there, Aden stopped suddenly. So sudden in fact that Kaito bumped into her lightly, stepping away and rubbing his nose. "Here we are ... " She said non-enthusiastically. Peering upward, Kaito read the label hanging above the door. Apparently they were standing in front of 'Music Room #3'.

With both hands Aden turned the handle and shoved the doors aside, trudging forward like a reluctant dog on a trip to the vet.

The first thing noticed by Kaito when he walked in was the fact that, much unlike the outside world, the music room was bright and cheery looking. All the curtain's were closed masking the dreary, rainy day from view and the entire place was spotless. It was very homey.

However, the second thing Kaito noticed was a tiny blond figure running right for them, his arms stretched wide, "You came!" Honey cheered with great excitement. At first he was directed at Aden, but then seemed to think better of it and instead migrated toward Kaito greeting him with a large hug, which of course never reached past his waist.

"Um, hey Honey." Kaito replied with a friendly smile, patting the shorter boy on the head. It was still extremely hard to believe Honey was older then him for obvious reasons.

Positioned toward the center of the room, the rest of the hosts were lounging about on a group of plush furniture. As far as he could tell, everyone was there, and looking fairly bored too. Everyone except Tamaki that was.

Squashed into one armchair, Hikaru and Kaoru had their heads bent, silently fussing over a small object visible only to them. Noticing the new arrivals, they simply addressed them with one monotone "Hey," said in perfect unison before returning to their task. Climbing onto one couch, Honey took his place between the ever silent Mori and a sleepy Haruhi.

Seeing a smidgen of space left, Kaito sat down next to Haruhi. This forced Aden to take the only remaining spot on the opposite couch with Kyoya. For once he didn't have anything in hand and was instead staring placidly at who knows what, chin on his fist. Thankfully, Aden decided not to make a fuss for once in her life and took her seat, scooting as far away as possible.

As to be expected, the temporary peace didn't last very long.

Watching her for a second, Kyoya's calm expression broke into a small smirk, "Why, you look happy." He pointed out sarcastically. Aden crossed her arms, snorting loudly.

"Haha, very funny." She growled, making it clear she would rather have not started an argument at that time. Evidently Kyoya was in a much better mood then she was for he kept going.

"You're getting the couch wet."

"So?"

"It isn't cheap you know."

"Hmph."

"I'd suggest you get up."

"Well tough luck!"

"I wasn't kidding."

Aden's head snapped to the right, green eyes glaring at the speaker maliciously, "What, so you can have the whole thing to your stupid self? I don't think so!" She replied, sticking her tongue out like the mature person she was. Kyoya just chuckled softly irritating the touchy girl furthermore, however she forced herself to ignore him and instead tapped her foot on the ground impatiently.

"What the hell are we waiting for anyway? And where's Tamaki?"

Haruhi shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine." She replied. Hopefully Aden gazed around the group, but nobody seemed to have an answer. Sighing dramatically, she slumped against the back of the couch silently deciding that if Tamaki didn't show up anytime soon, she was going to leave.

As it turns out, they really didn't have to wait any more then five minutes before Tamaki burst through the door. Jumping, Aden watched as he strode toward the small group with a large, knowing grin plastered on his face. Obviously he knew something the rest of them did not.

Halting so that he was in full view, he puffed out his chest importantly, "Pleased you could all come." He stated happily, doing his best to hold in his excitement.

Aden rolled her eyes, "You _made_ me come!"

Tamaki ignored her.

"I'm excited to announce that due to all are hard work as of late, I've set up a surprise."

Immediately Honey began bouncing gleefully in place, "A surprise? Yay!" He cheered, eyes sparkling. Mori blinked, the twins exchanged confused glances and Haruhi and Kaito stared on curiously. Kyoya showed no sign of shock whatsoever while Aden, being restless and all, leaned forward with a brow raised.

"Well?" She pressed. For the first time that day a very slim ray of hope managed to wedge itself into her overly pessimistic mind. She desperately longed for some good news.

After a long pause, Tamaki spoke up again, "I've decided that the Host Club will be taking a three day long trip out to sea!" He announced, striking a theatrical pose.

For several long seconds he received only silence and blank stares.

Finally Haruhi spoke up, "Only you would find entertainment in such things." She muttered.

"What are _we_ suppose to do on a boat in the middle of fall?" Hikaru inquired. Tamaki seemed offended.

"Why, lots of things!" He exclaimed, "Breath the fresh air, enjoy the scenery and ... uh ... "

Honey looked thoughtful for a moment or two before breaking into his usual sunny smile, "Oh! We could go fishing!" He suggested, "I've never gone fishing before."

"Yeah! See, Honey's got the right idea. There's plenty to do."

Kaoru frowned before turning his attention to Kyoya, "You let him plan this?"

Pushing his glasses into their preferred position, he gave a shallow nod, "He insisted we take an 'enlightening' vacation. Besides, it was cheap."

"... Figures."

Realizing Kaito was sitting amongst them, Tamaki glanced at Aden's friend brightly, "You're welcome to come too of course, you did teach us all about that wonderful game of kick ball after all."

Kaito blinked, "Well, I don't see why not?" He replied with a shrug and a polite smile.

Strangely enough, Aden hadn't said one word, not a single protest or anything. It was strangely unlike her. As if it suddenly just occurred to everyone at once, the all turned their heads to watch her expectantly, waiting for some kind of outburst. Certainly their loudest female member would have something to complain about?

But Aden said nothing. Sitting frozen, she had paled considerably, eyes slightly widened. She looked almost spooked, oblivious to their presences.

"Aden," Kaito spoke worriedly, "Are you okay?"

Realizing she was now the center of attention, Aden broke from her trance blinking rapidly, "Y-yeah, I'm fine!" She replied immediately, unable to keep a notable tremble from her voice. Awkwardly she wrung her hands together before glancing at Tamaki, "Are you sure this is a good idea, we still have school don't we?"

"We're on fall break, don't you remember?"

"And since when do you care about school?" Kaito added.

"Uh, oh! That's right I ... I forgot."

Hastily she tried to appear relaxed, arms at her side, but Haruhi didn't seem convinced. "Are you sure you're feeling okay?" She asked once more, obvious suspicion hinted in her tone.

Aden's eyes narrowed, her fists clenched tightly, "I said I was fine." She managed to reply between clenched teeth. Desperately she tried to hide her whitened face by brushing some of her loose hair forward, glaring out at everyone from behind messy golden bangs as if daring a single person to say otherwise. Fortunately nobody decided to question her further.

After that the conversation continued, most of it being endless questions for the host king that he tried to answer without sounding too flustered. Nevertheless, Aden kept her mouth shut, hardly able to hear a word as she sat with frantic thoughts. At one point she found herself daring a brief glance at the one person in the room who was bound to know why she seemed so bothered. To her surprise, Kyoya was already watching her thoughtfully, memories of a nearly drowned girl hoping to keep her strong fear of water a secret resurfacing.

Yes, the others may have been skeptical, but only Kyoya truly knew what was going on in Aden's head at that moment.

...

Much later that evening, now back at home, Aden sat in her room. She had the lights all turned off and the curtains drawn, the only source of light coming from the glow of her computer. Sitting at her desk, she watched the screen closely, biting her lip in deep concentration.

Shortly after the Host club's meeting and a long discussion going into more detail about their little trip, Aden proceeded to leave the second she saw the chance. In fact, she was so eager to depart that she nearly forgot all about Kaito who, despite wanting to stay a bit longer, followed after her. The entire walk back Kaito ended up doing most of the talking, expressing his enthusiasm for the coming weekend and going into a detailed narrative about an uncle of his who happened to own a fishing boat. Aden pretended to listen, nodding every great once in a while, but for the most part, her mind was elsewhere.

Now alone, she was attempting to immerse herself in a computer game to distract her from worry, but it wasn't really working.

"Oh come on ... " She moaned, having died for the umpteenth time since she started playing. It was no use, she couldn't focus for more then a minute.

Frustrated, she gave up, turning the game off and shutting the computer down before slinking over to her big bed. Falling forward, she flopped down face first on her many pillows and stuffed animals. Nobody in her family quite understood why she needed so many things on her bed, but as far as Aden was concerned, one could never have enough plush toys and pillows. Without them, her bed simply felt empty.

Rolling over, she stared at the ceiling. If she wasn't so terrified of drowning, a three day trip wouldn't seem so bad. But she couldn't help it, the thought of being surrounded by water on all sides, unable to put one toe on land sent her heart into a frantic flutter. She knew it wasn't true, but at that point she felt as if she was the only person in the world who didn't know how to swim. She simply sank, and being in the ocean ... well, she'd defiantly have a long way to sink. Eyes narrowed, she huffed angrily; why did she have to be so scared of it? It wasn't fair, she wasn't scared of anything, well, except for riding in vehicles, but she had a good reason for that!

Reaching out, she randomly grabbed at one of her plushies, a squishy black cat. Hugging it to her chest, she turned on her side. Well okay, maybe she wasn't as tough as she thought she was seeing as a little toy still managed to bring her comfort, even if just a little bit. Still, she couldn't have everyone else knowing that, she was far to stubborn and proud to admit being afraid, especially of something like water. She'd probably have to think up a really good excuse not to go.

In the silence of her room Aden was able to hear the sound of someone approaching her door before they even got the chance to knock. Thinking nothing of it, she waited to hear the voice of Chizue or one of the other maids beckoning her.

"Aden hon, are you in there?"

It turned out to be not the voice of a maid, but instead that of Mr. Eluekhart himself.

Surprised, Aden sat up just as her father opened the door, the hallway light flooding onto the carpet. Searching the wall, he muttered something about it being ridiculously dark in her room and flipped on the light switch illuminating everything.

Mr. Eluekhart, otherwise known as Eric, was a very tall, broad shouldered man. He was light skinned with the same honey colored hair as Aden and a bright pair of blue eyes. Somehow he managed to look a lot younger then he really was with little to no effort at all and always seemed to be smiling. Often Aden would joke around and tell him he had the teeth of a movie star, which was practically the truth. As usual he was clothed in a very clean, professional suit and tie.

"Ah, there you are." He murmured happily.

Seeing him, Aden blinked, "What are you doing up here?" She questioned. Honestly she was happy to see him, however it was very rarely that he'd actually take time from his busy schedule to speak with her for more then a few minutes.

Approaching the bed, he spread his arms wide, "What, I can't ever come see you?"

Smiling, Aden stood and greeted him with a hug, momentarily forgetting about her previous troubles in his warm embrace. It felt as though it'd been ages since she'd actually hugged him.

Pulling away, he placed his heavy hands on Aden's shoulders, gazing down at her kindly, "I got off of work early today, I thought I'd tell you we'll be eating dinner as a family tonight. It's almost ready."

Aden nodded, "Alright." Really, she wasn't particularly hungry, but eating dinner with her family was a rare event. Well, she could do without Ryota and his mother, however she would deal with them if it meant spending more time with her father.

Looking at her more closely, Mr. Eluekhart's jovial grin slowly dropped into a concerned frown, "Are you getting sick?" He asked suddenly, gently pressing the back of his hand to her forehead in search of a fever. Mentally Aden cursed, did she really still look that pale?

"I don't think so, I feel perfectly fine," She replied, lifting his hand away and putting on the brightest expression she could. He didn't look so sure, but he shrugged anyway.

"Okay, if you say so, wouldn't want you catching anything."

"Don't worry, I'm perfectly healthy."

Sighing, he ruffled her hair tenderly, "Yes, well, I wouldn't put it past you to keep things like that from me. You're not invincible, you don't have to act like it all the time you know. Nobody's going to be disappointed in you for being human." He prompted.

"Dad, I said I was okay, didn't I?"

Mr. Eluekhart shook his head, "Yes, yes I know. Now come on downstairs." He reminded her as he walked toward the hall. Pausing in the doorway, he glanced over his shoulder, "And you're _going_ to eat something. You ride that bike everywhere on nothing but junk food, I doubt that's in any way healthy." And with those last words he disappeared from view.

Listening to the sound of his footsteps departing, Aden gave a deep sigh. Maybe food would do her good, anything to bring the color back to her face again. Opening a couple of the curtains before she left, Aden turned off the light again and made her way to the dining room.

Like every other area in the house, the Eluekhart's dining room was magnificently decorated with polished wooden floors and enough space to fit a few elephants. In the center directly underneath a wide, sparkling chandelier was a long oak table, big enough for her father to host meetings with his many colleagues.

When she arrived, Aden was instantly disappointed to see both Ryota and her stepmother, Nanami, were already seated waiting patiently to be served. Nanami was speaking with her father, but seeing Aden, she welcomed her with an empty, painfully superficial smile. Aden thought she looked a whole lot like her son, thin and smug, the difference between them being Nanami attempted to hide it.

Choosing a chair on the opposite end of the immense table, Aden settled herself down. Soon enough the small family was being served, the people who worked in their kitchen supplying them with a variety of choices. Despite her unwillingness to eat, Aden picked a whole steak for herself anyway.

"So Aden, how's school been? I see you've actually been attending for once." Nanami asked suddenly, her voice irritatingly sweet as usual. It truly sounded as if she would rather have spoken to anybody other then her presumptuous stepdaughter.

"Fine." Aden murmured through a huge mouthful of meat. She didn't feel like taking the time to cut it up, so instead she'd settled for a couple of rather large pieces.

"That's good. Oh, and Aden dear, take smaller bites would you?" Nanami chided. With much difficulty Aden swallowed, but said nothing.

Sipping her drink delicately, Nanami turned away just in time to miss Aden roll her eyes, "Eric, did you happen to see Ryota's report card? He got perfect marks again. Didn't you Ryota?"

"That's right."

Mr. Eluekhart raised a brow, though he didn't exactly seem surprised, "Did he really? Good work Ryota."

Aden gave a silent snort of disgust.

"Yes, I really think it'll pay off sending him to that private college, he's sure to make us proud." She practically purred. Aden resisted the urge to puke. Never once had she ever heard Nanami say one bad thing about her beloved child. And yet, she had no problem complaining about everything Aden did; this she typically proceeded to do behind her back of course. True, she wasn't exactly an angel, she knew that, but it didn't stop her from loathing the egotistical women.

Chewing silently, Aden simply blocked out her babbling, trying instead to think of a good reason she couldn't join everyone out on the boat that coming weekend. This was until she heard her name brought up in the conversation once again, or at least she thought she did.

"What was that?" She interrupted, glancing up from her dinner plate. Nanami seemed annoyed that Aden hadn't been paying even the slightest attention, but she repeated herself anyway.

"I said, I'm going to be hosting a party here for the women at work this weekend, I'd like you to help out."

Aden stiffened, "Guhhh ... " In a flash she felt panic rise in her chest. Stay at the house with Nanami? No way in hell was she going to endure such suffering! She could imagine the horrors already. A crowd of snobby women strutting about in fancy clothing, Nanami ordering her about like a slave, and of course, there was no doubt in her mind she'd be forced to wear some kind of gross dress while her step mother showed off her favored son like an award winning show dog.

"This will be an important event for me, I'll need you to be on your best behavior and for-"

"I ... I can't." Aden blurted out abruptly.

Lips pursed, Nanami crossed her arms, "And why not? You're not doing anything are you?"

"Actually I ... I'm ... I'm going to be gone."

"Where to?"

Hesitating, Aden took a deep breath as quietly as she could before continuing.

"Some kids at school, the invited me to come on a boat ride."

For the longest time Nanami stared at her as if she'd have liked nothing better then to say, _"Why on earth would anyone invite __**you**__ to anything?"_ But even if she wanted to, she didn't get the chance.

"Oh! That's right, you're apart of that ... that club!" Aden's father butted in without warning, "What was it called again?"

Aden shot him a very odd, shocked look. Not once did she remember mentioning anything about the Host club in front of him, she'd never even hinted at it for goodness sake. Had her dad acquired the ability to read minds?

"You're in a club?" She heard Ryota say. It sounded as if he were amusing himself with the idea that Aden might actually have friends. She pretended not to have heard him and instead faced her father.

"How ... how do you know that, who told you?"

Mr. Eluekhart reflected on the question thoughtfully, after some time he replied "Let's see, it was one of your friends I think, a boy I believe, but for the life of me I can't remember his name. Something with a 'k'? Kody ... Kyite ... Kandy perhaps?"

Aden had to stop herself from banging her head on the table.

"Eric, nobody names their son 'Kandy' ... " Nanami sighed. Ryota snickered.

"Huh? Well anyway, it was a while ago."

Aden's eye lid twitched, her brow furrowing deeply, _"Kyoya, damn him! He could have at least told me for crying out loud."_ She thought sourly. Flexing her fingers, she forced herself to stay calm and cleared her throat. It was either help Nanami, or face one of her worst fears on a boat-full of wackos ...

Needless to say she choose the latter.

"Sorry Nanami, but I'm not going to be able to help you." She spoke confidently. There was no changing her mind now.

Huffing, Nanami smoothed her skirt roughly, "Very well then, Ryota will be glad to help me out."

Noticing the expression on her brother's face, Aden had to cover her mouth to keep herself from laughing. It didn't look like he was up to the task either. It then dawned on her that this whole time she'd never even thought about asking her fathers permission. She didn't give a flying fuck what Nanami thought, but, well seeing as he was sitting right there.

Meeting his amiable blue gaze, she let her head tip to the side innocently, "So Dad, I can go right?"

Instantly Mr. Eluekhart was smiling again, "Certainly, I don't see any harm in it." He chuckled.

Relieved, Aden stood, downing the rest of her water and wiping off her face with a napkin. Then, thanking her father and biding him goodnight, she made off toward the stairs. As she left she thought she could pick up the sound of Nanami protesting, no doubt something about her, but Aden didn't stick around to listen. She didn't care.

Reaching her bedroom, she closed the door and prepared herself for bed. After changing her clothing, brushing her teeth and the like, she finished up by washing her face before flicking off the light and sliding under the covers. Getting snug in-between her mounds of cloth creatures and fluffy pillows, she finally lay still.

Despite the unsettling feeling in her stomach, it appeared Aden would be joining the Host club's field-trip anyway, fear of drowning or not. Sighing, she rolled over to stare out the window where she noticed the bad weather had dispersed to leave way for a bright, full moon.

"_This ... this is ridiculous,"_ She brooded, _"I can't be scared of water, it's everywhere!"_

That settled, Aden closed her eyes, deciding then and there that over the next three days she'd get over her irrational fear, no matter how hard. This was her chance, one way or another Aden Eluekhart was going to face the dreaded ocean.

... Hopefully.

* * *

**Yeeep. What a random, odd vacation right? But since Tamaki came up with it, I figured it'd be okay seeing as it's weird and all. Lul.**

**Almost drowning actually is some freaky stuff, it's almost happened to me once and I was little, but I can still remember it ...  
**

**I SHOULD be able to update faster because I'm looking forward to the next chapter. I'm also having internet issues at the moment so chances are I'll be doing plenty of writing.**

**... Trololol at "Kandy" by the way. x3**

**CHARACTER COMMENTARY**

**Aden: **SBH, your sense of humor is dumb. And another thing, what's up with your name anyway? I mean ... who names themselves Salamander B. Hat!**  
SBH: **You're suppose to be commenting on the story, not me!**  
Aden: **Yes but, you wrote the story, therefore you're a part of it. Now ... tell me!**  
SBH: **Erm ... -looks at Kyoya- Wanna help me out here?**  
Kyoya: **Actually, I've been wondering the same thing myself.**  
Aden: **Yeah, so spit it out already!**  
SBH: **HA!**  
Aden: **What's so funny?**  
SBH: **Aden and Kyoya actually agreed on something for once! This is worthy of the history books, somebody record this!**  
Mori: **-wheels in a chalk board-**  
Honey: **Right! -climbs up on his shoulders to make a chalk mark-**  
Kyoya: **...**  
Aden: **...**  
SBH: **LOOK, they did it again! Dot, dot, dotting counts as agreeing, doesn't it? Ah, mark it anyway.**  
Tamaki: **A chalkboard! -starts doodling-**  
Kyoya: **Time to leave.**  
Aden: **Yep.**  
SBH: **THEY DID IT AGAIN! -shoves Tamaki out of the way- We're gonna need all this space here to record now.**  
Tamaki: **But ... but ... -teary eyed-**  
Hikaru&Kaoru: **To the boat!**  
**


	8. Hosts On a Boat

**SO, IT'S OFFICIAL. I am the worst updater in all of the world! -waits for the cheers-**  
**No, but really, I'm so sorry for those of you who were actually waiting for me. But I actually do have a reason for this uber lateness! It's called getting grounded... and then losing the entire document. Yep, my computer ate the whole friggin chapter. Good news, I got it back. Bad news... it erased some of the words, most of the grammar, and added a ton of extra spaces. I mean really, WHAT THE HELL? BLARGH. So, I had to go through and fix it all, which means chances are I missed a bunch. So if you find yourself confronted with some odd spelling/grammar mistake that makes no sense, yeah, sorry bout that. Review time? :l**

**Misty-chan:** D'aww, she's lovable? Thanks! The weird thing about "Kandy" is honestly, like the minute after I wrote that chapter I went onto Facebook only to find my friend talking about a goat she had named Kandy. -facepalm-

**ColonKellyHigginsGoil304:** Sorry, sorry! I swear, if I decide not to continue the story anymore, I WILL say so. I'm just a slow poke. D:

**ZomTatoZom:** Only you would attempt to eat an entire boat ... and feel bad for a couch. ._.

**Annnd thanks to all who put the story on your favorites! Honestly, it really helped remind me I needed to start working.** **Oh, and I also went back and edited a bunch of things. Mostly just spelling issues, but they were driving me nuts. xD**

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

HOSTS ON A BOAT

_(Beware the gull... and various other things, but mostly the gull.)_

Unsurprisingly, three days came and went faster then even a pessimistic, hydrophobic teenage girl could predict, leaving Aden to wonder how she'd managed to let the hours slip between her fingers so easily. But alas, the majority of this precious time was spent, not preparing, but instead lolling about her fathers home doing ... Aden-like things, these of which included watching television, inviting Kaito over to play video games, and of course, sleeping, lots and lots of sleeping. So as one would expect, when the lazy girl awakened that Friday only to remember her dreaded fate, she was not at all thrilled.

Grumbling, she sat up, making sure to give her blaring alarm clock an extra hard whack in the process. She'd completely neglected to do any kind of planning and or packing leaving herself faced with a rather stressful morning. Stretching briefly, Aden stood, shuffling over to one of the windows and pulling open the drapes.

Immediately she was blinded by sunlight, forcing her to squint. The last few days had been simply nothing but gloomy and wet, however it appeared the weather had taken a dramatic change. She wasn't quite sure if she should be welcoming such conditions, somehow it felt like nature was mocking her.

Realizing it would be in her best interest to pack, Aden marched to the closet and flung open the sturdy oak doors without hesitation. Now had she remembered how cluttered the space had become, she might have been a little more cautious, however seeing as she didn't, Aden was immediately attacked by a falling mass of inanimate objects.

Surprised shout muffled by an assortment of clothes, her legs buckled, the weight throwing her to the ground. Recovering from shock, she flailed about until she heard a voice coming from the direction of her door.

"Are you alright?"

Identifying it as Chizue, Aden struggled to free herself, head popping out comically above her mountain of stuff. "Chizue," She addressed the maid with a deep breath, "Would you help me find my suitcase?" Nodding, Chizue pulled the disheveled girl back to her feet and together they faced the disorderly closet.

Nevertheless, even with aid, the task wasn't exactly an easy one. She couldn't be sure, but as far as she remembered, Aden hadn't bothered to use her suitcase since her move to Japan a little less then three years ago. Now she was beginning to regret waiting so long to search for it.

By the time the long lost duffel bag was uncovered, Aden s room floor was hidden beneath all the junk the two of them had managed to pull out. It was probably about time she got rid of some of it as the mass was almost frightening. It was a wonder how it had all fit together in the first place.

Panting a little, Aden straightened, brushing a stray sock from her shoulder, "Don't worry about cleaning this up, I ll do it when I get back." She informed Chizue with a sideways glance at the appalling mess. She would have felt bad leaving it to the kindly young women, it was all hers after all.

"Are you sure? I can do it."

"No, I need to try and sort this out anyway ... " Aden muttered with a wave of her hand, though she wasn't by any means looking forward to it.

"At least let me help you pack?" Chizue offered quickly.

"Alright."

Trusting the enthusiastic servant with her things, Aden bent down to gather a few random articles of clothing before retiring to her bathroom for a shower.

Some time later she was standing under the steady thrum of warm water, a foggy cloud of steam gathering near the ceiling. Head lowered, she cupped her hands allowing it to gather in a small puddle upon her palm. It was about then that she couldn't help but give in to her anxious thoughts. Well, she wasn't scared of bathing, right? And that was water. Then again, she wasn't exactly suffocating in it either, which pretty much eliminated the whole fear thing.

"No duh, god I m stupid, why am I even thinking like this?" She scolded herself angrily. She'd be perfectly fine. Sheesh, you'd think someone was planning to throw her into the sea with a cinder-block tied to her foot with the way she was fretting. For a moment she found herself recalling the words her father had said, the ones about her pretending to be invincible.

"Do I really think like that?" Aden pondered out loud, heart sinking.

It certainly seemed like it.

Pushing the contemplation aside for a later time, Aden finished up and dressed herself. Drying her hair, she pulled it up into a sloppy ponytail before returning to Chizue and her chore.

"Sorry I took so long-" She started, trailing off to study Chizue's work with wide eyes.

Somehow she'd not only managed to fill the single duffel bag they'd retrieved, but what appeared to be three others as well, all equally stuffed. When did she find the time to get the others? And how the hell had she finished so damn fast? Talk about efficiency.

Pausing, Aden rubbed her neck, puzzled, "Um, you know I'm not going to be gone for that long, right?"

The maid replied with a shrug, "Oh, I know that. I just wanted to make sure you were prepared for anything." And when Chizue meant anything, she really meant anything as Aden thought she may have spotted a pair of mittens sticking out from one of the pockets.

Ignoring the unnecessary amount of luggage, Aden smiled regardless, wordlessly expressing her thanks. Wrapping her hand around the handle closest to her, she strained to lift it, the bottom hovering just an inch above the ground before Chizue scurried forward to raise the other end. Together they hauled her luggage from the end of the hall and to the stairs where Aden insisted she could handle it on her own. However, before she could say a word, Chizue was already walking back to gather the rest without a moments hesitation.

Facing the stairs, Aden decided against struggling to carry it and instead just gave the bag a hard shove. Pausing, she watched briefly as her luggage bounced down the steps with a few loud thuds, tumbling over it's self again and again. Unfortunately, all was not well in the path of the wrecking ball.

To Aden s dismay, by pure chance her father happened to be turning into the hall just as it launched itself off the last tread. Unbeknownst to the danger, the man (who just happened to be eating a rather delicious cupcake) was taken by complete surprise when out of nowhere a heavy lump careened into his chest, blowing him over like a bowling pin.

Both worried and slightly amused, his daughter thundered down the stairs and to his side immediately. "Oh crap, I didn't think that would happen, sorry!" She apologized. Confused, and a bit crestfallen having noticed his cupcake smeared across the floor, Eric Eluekhart rose and swept crumbs from his shirt, apparently still in mint condition.

"Well, I can't exactly say I was expecting that." He muttered, seemingly unaffected by the spill. Happy to see he was both uninjured and pleasant despite her accident, Aden couldn't help but giggle.

"Really? Everyone knows random objects may come falling down the staircase at any time."

"I suppose I ought to be more careful next time." He replied with a forgiving smile.

Aden nodded once, arms crossed dramatically, "Remember to look both ways when crossing a busy hallway."

"Right, safety first."

Shaking his head, Eric bent down to take hold of the troublesome bag with ease. Curious, he studied it with one brow raised. "Going somewhere?" He mused, holding the strap out to Aden. Grabbing hold of her burden, Aden threw it over her shoulder with a loud grunt.

"Have you really forgotten already?" She remarked in an almost disappointed manner, "I told you I would be leaving this weekend. You know, on that boat ride. "

And just like that his confusion was replaced with a look of recognition, "Ah, that's right. I remember now."

Aden loved her father, she really did, but sometimes his forgetfulness was enough to make her wonder how he managed to do so well in the business world in the first place. Adjusting the sling into a more comfortable position, she marched toward the front door.

"Do you need a ride?" Eric asked suddenly.

Halting, she glanced over her shoulder, "Don't you have to get to work?"

"I can drop you off on the way there." And by 'I' he meant 'the chauffeur', because quite honestly his driving skills needed some serious fine tuning. Apparently he was able to do most anything but drive and exercise his memory.

Thinking about riding in a car made the butterflies in her stomach come alive, her nerves resurfacing. And yet, there was no possible way she'd be able to carry all her stuff on her bike, it was pretty much suicide. And besides, not only did her father very well know her unease with vehicles, but he would be with her as well. That alone was enough to lend her a bit more confidence.

"Okay, we can do that."

Glad she'd agreed, he too moved to the door, grabbing Aden's bag from her grasp as he did so. "Get whatever else it is you need and meet me out front. Don't take long." He instructed, disappearing before Aden could find any reason to object.

Knowing he wasn't kidding about hurrying up, she bolted back up the stairs.

In little to no time at all, father and daughter were both sitting in the back of the limo, Eric speaking exuberantly about anything and everything, while Aden held onto her seat belt for dear life. It wasn't that the driving was bad, it was actually a gentle ride. However, Aden couldn't exactly admit to having very good experiences with cars. She knew her father was trying to distract her, so she did her best to listen, nodding here and there as he went on. But really, her thoughts went a little something like...

"_We're gonna crash, we're gonna crash! No we won't ... but what if the car explodes? No it won't ... but what if it does? Holy shit, holy shit, there's going to be Aden parts splattered all over the road!"_

As just about anybody could predict, by the time they arrived at the harbor, the car hadn't crashed or exploded, nor had it done any other possibly horrific thing that had tormented her mind on the way over. Although, there was one thing it _had_ done.

Thoroughly convince Aden she needed to stop watching so many action movies.

Opening the door, she practically dove upon the sidewalk, more then happy to feel her feet on solid ground. Wobbling a little, she gathered herself together again and hobbled to unload everything from the trunk.

Rolling down the window, Eric's head popped out of the limousine to wish Aden a good trip and give her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. "I'd stay longer, but I m afraid I'd be late." He spoke regretfully, "So I guess I'll see you soon. I love you, have fun!" And with those last words the car was rumbling away.

Alone, Aden turned to survey the bustling area in the bright sunlight.

Just as she'd expected, it was a nice port. The greenery -despite the season- was lush, the entire place was clean, and to her surprise, it was a bit busy. Overall it was alright, aside from the abundance of seagulls that was. Shielding her eyes with a single hand, Aden scoured the pier for her ride. Bobbing up and down a ways off she spotted what could only be a miniature cruise ship floating majestically among the many sailboats. She was willing to bet anything that would be her temporary home for the next few days.

"Aden, over here!" She heard a familiar voice beckon.

Turning, she watched a jolly Kaito come bounding across the parking lot, the red back pack he carried flopping along as he jogged. Behind him, two figures emerged from a compact white car. Instantly she recognized them as his mother, Mai, and his little sister, Kita, come to see him off.

Signaling the small family over, Aden gave Kaito a friendly pat on the back as he skidded to a halt beside her, "You look like you got a good nights sleep."

Kaito beamed, "I'm just excited," He exclaimed. He didn't have to tell her twice.

Hearing his only parent and sibling approach, Aden waved, "Hello Ms. Surruku." She addressed politely.

"Aden, it's nice to see you again." Mai replied with a smile. The women worked hard to support her family, and it showed, nevertheless she was one of the most pleasant people Aden knew. Like Kaito, his mother had tanned skin, and long, dark chocolate hair that flowed down her back. Kita looked like her smaller copy.

"Hey Kita!" Aden said to the tiny girl hovering about her mothers feet. Kita flashed her a cute little grin, but said nothing, and Aden didn't expect her to either. Nobody could be one hundred percent sure, but most everyone thought Kita was mute, the five year old never said a single word, not even to her mother to whom she was very attached. Many had tried to get her to speak, but to no avail. And so everyone simply adjusted to her silence.

"Oh wow, look at that!" Kaito exclaimed, indicating the brilliant boat with one pointed finger.

"Goodness, it looks like you ll have a nice vacation." His mother added. Big blue eyes widened, Kita stepped away from her mother to tug at Kaito's pant leg and stare at the giant yacht hopefully.

Sighing, Kaito put a gentle hand on her soft head, "I'm sorry Kita, you have to stay here." Hearing this, Kita frowned and let her head drop dejectedly. Feeling a tinge of pity for the child, Aden was about to say more when she was distracted by a jovial, energetic bellow.

"Wonderful, you both made it!"

Groaning mentally once she'd attached a name to the voice, she glanced over her shoulder.

Merry as usual, Tamaki skipped over to the little group wearing a t-shirt and a swimsuit, his sandals clomping loudly over the dock boards and onto the cement. Seeing him coming, shy Kita hurried to take refugee behind her mother. Thankfully by the time he reached them, Tamaki had slowed down so as not to plow the others over with his enthusiasm..

"That's our boat right?" Kaito asked.

"Indeed it is! Beautiful isn't she?" He responded happily, obviously eager to get moving. Even so, when he noticed Kaito's mother and sister, his interest was sparked, "And who are these lovely ladies?" As to be expected, he couldn't ignore the chance for a good introduction.

Once Kaito had successfully presented his family members, Tamaki faced Mai with a charming bow, "It's a great pleasure to meet you!" He greeted with sincere chivalry and a warm smile, "I'm Tamaki Suou."

Clearly Mai wasn t treated in such a way all that often for she seemed flattered, "Why, it s a pleasure to meet you too."

In the background, Aden let out a small, inaudible, "Pffft." He may have been emperor of all morons most of the time, but even she had to admit she'd never met anyone so friendly.

Noticing the child peeking out from behind Mai, Tamaki knelt down to her level, eyes sparkling, "You must be Kita then?" Still feeling timid, Kita nodded, fingers wrapped around the fabric of Mai s pants.

"She's adorable!" Tamaki declared, it looked like he wanted nothing more then to sweep her up in his arms and take him with her. "Kaito, you re so lucky to have a little sister."

Standing beside Aden, Katio chuckled.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Tamaki produced a petite, vivid rose and offered it to Kita kindly, "Here you go little princess." For a second Kita appeared unsure, but after a while she shuffled out of her hiding place and took the flower in both hands. Blinking, she thanked him with her signature, silent grin, cradling the gift carefully.

While his facial expression obviously stated, _"__Oh__ my __god,__ she'__s __sooo __cute!__"_ Tamaki was finally able to stand and tear his attention away from the speechless girl, "As much as I'd like to stick around, I suppose we should be going then."

Motioning his agreement, Kaito gave a quick hug to both Kita and Mai, and watched as they departed back to their car.

For Tamaki, who was carrying nothing at all, and Kaito, who had but one backpack, the short distance was a breeze. Regardless, for Aden, who had double the amount, the walk was not riveting in the least bit. At last, when they reached their destination, Aden was free to collapse on the dock panting like an overworked dog.

Noticing this, Tamaki frowned, "You know, we could have just had somebody else carry that for you?"

Catching her breath, Aden glowered at him sourly, "Why don't you try telling me that a little sooner, would you?"

"Oh, alright!"

His reaction kind of made her want to clobber her head against the nearest pole.

Whether or not she would have really done so was never discovered for over the boats railing, just above them, stared Honey, complete with a brand new sailors hat. Practically radiating joy, he beamed, "Come on up guys, it's fun!" He called, disappearing from view.

Deciding she would just have to hope that someone would load all her crap on for her (because lord knows she wasn't going to try), Aden hauled herself up the walkway, Kaito and Tamaki hot on her heels.

If she thought their personal cruise boat was large from the shore, standing on it made the whole thing look even bigger yet. Right from the get go Aden figured someone more experienced then any of the host's would captain it, she didn't trust even Kyoya would know how to do that. And her guesses were confirmed when she watched an older man walk on by; one of the few crew members hired to make sure the lot of them didn't go and get themselves killed.

"This is awesome!" Kaito breathed. Aden wasn't as vocal about it, but she wouldn't say she wasn't a little impressed.

Spotting them, Honey bounced over. Not only was he wearing a hat, but he d swapped normal clothing for an entire kids sailor custom. Secured in a belt around his waist was Usa-Chan. And, as usual, Mori accompanied him. Strangely enough he had on a rather priceless looking fisherman's hat, and a frighteningly long fishing pole.

"We're all here, so I guess it s time to go!" Aden heard Tamaki proclaim before prancing off to inform the captain.

"Eh, now what?" Aden questioned after watching their leader dart away. He seemed to want to leave as soon as possible.

Honey adjusted his hat, "Mori and I can take you on the grand tour! We ll show you your rooms too."

Deciding that sounded like a good plan, Kaito and Aden nodded in turn. Vaguely she wondered where the others could be, but she knew they had to be somewhere nearby. He may have been air-headed, but even Aden knew Tamaki couldn't leave a single person behind; not that she personally would have minded.

"Follow us!" The sunny voice advised.

And so, with the two oldest hosts in the lead, Aden and her friend began the tour beginning at the front of the boat. From there, Honey showed them around every inch, starting with the decks and ending with the interior. By this time the vessel was already moving, lurching from the harbor out into the open sea.

"This door goes to the kitchen, this one to one of the restrooms, and this hallway," Honey explained halfway through, "is where all the bedrooms are!" Without hesitation he turned a sharp corner that opened into yet another slim, but lengthy corridor. Here Aden observed about a dozen or so doors lining the wall, and on the opposite side, windows with a clear view of the outside world.

"Neat, huh? We all get our own bedrooms too." Going down the row, he named off each rooms designated owner (how he remembered them all so quickly, she hadn't a clue) until at last he paused at two neighboring doors.

"This one's Kaito's." He said, motioning to his right, "And the one on the left is Aden's."

"I feel like we're at camp." Kaito commented with amusement. It wasn't hard to imagine Honey as a camp counselor either, so she could totally see where he was coming from.

Parting, they each opened their doors and walked inside.

As to be expected, the room was spotless and charming, not nearly as large as her bedroom back home, however there was no lack of space. Poking around here and there, Aden was relieved see someone had indeed been nice enough to bring her traveling bags inside, all of them sitting neatly on the bed.

Setting them on the floor, she glanced around once more and returned to the hall where the three others stood waiting for her.

...

Not long afterward, the entire Host club could be found on the lower, front most deck. Despite her want to stay clear of any and all water related activities, Aden reluctantly joined them anyway.

Completely convinced he was going to catch the best dinner they'd ever had, Honey stood with Mori a ways off, each of them hanging fishing poles over the rim. In truth, they weren't having very much luck at all, but did that stop them? Of course not. Privately Aden predicted they would catch nothing but seaweed.

Further away, near the very front of the boat, Tamaki had insisted a diving board be set up so he could experience swimming in the middle of the sea. It had really never crossed his mind that had Kyoya not told the crew to stop the boat, Tamaki would have more likely than not been left behind ... that was if he hadn't gotten run over first. Joining him were Hikaru, Kaoru and Kaito, all of them wearing swimsuits and waiting for the first brave soul to leap in. Wearily Tamaki watched the deep blue waves.

"I wonder how deep it is?" He pondered out-loud.

"Oh come on, you can't actually be scared?" Hikaru teased. Not that he was all that eager to be first either.

Tamaki huffed, "I am not!"

"Then go!"

Glaring at him, Tamaki turned and ever so slowly made his way across the diving board. Pausing at the very end, he looked down, eyes a little wider.

"Well," Kaoru pushed, "Are you going or not?"

"Don't rush me!"

Standing next to the twins, Kaito twiddled his thumbs, "I hope they're no Sharks around here." He mused. He'd meant it as more of an after thought, however, everyone managed to hear him anyway, including Tamaki who let out a sharp squeak of horror. Surprised, he lost balance, arms lashing wildly for a few seconds before plummeting backwards.

Waiting for the loud splash that followed his disappearance, Kaito and the twins hustled to the edge of the diving board. Unharmed, Tamaki's head appeared above the water, teeth chattering loudly.

"It's cold!"

Hikaru opened his mouth to reply, but never got the chance.

Slipping, Kaito stumbled forward, hitting the brothers and sending them all overboard as well.

Closer to the middle of the deck, Aden rolled her eyes in amusement. She was sitting in a chair under the shade of a few large umbrellas to keep herself from melting along with Haruhi and Kyoya. Exhausted for whatever reason, Haruhi had taken to a nap, curled up in the chair with her back to the others and snoring lightly. This left Aden in the company of Kyoya, who was trying to ignore her by reading, and a box of crackers she d rummaged around the boat for out of boredom and the need to snack. Personally she figured if she stayed near the center of the boat, there was less of a chance she'd end up in the sea. Not to mention if for some odd reason they all ended up there, she could always use Kyoya as a flotation device. He wouldn't make a very happy flotation device, but she had to reassure herself with something.

Now sulking, she chewed on a cracker thoughtfully. Having nothing to do, she ended up trying to balance one on her nose. While at first he had no problem tuning her out, soon Kyoya found this task growing more difficult by the passing second.

"Stupid cracker!" Aden hissed as it tumbled onto the deck. Quickly she replaced it with another.

"_Ignore her."_

"Okay, this time it'll- ahhh!"

"_Ignore her."_

"I think I've got it now."

"_Ignore her."_

"SHIT!"

Unable to block her continuous noise, Kyoya put his book down and scowled at the offender, "Aden, did it ever occur to you just how obnoxious you are?" He snapped aggressively. Subconsciously he knew this wasn't going to help the situation a great deal, but he couldn't help it; for goodness sake, what kind of moron made so much racket trying to balance something on their face? Surprised, Aden jumped sending another cracker clattering to the ground. Concentration lost, she regained her composure and returned the glare.

"I am definitely not obnoxious!" She recoiled without hesitation as if he'd only just pulled the observation out of the blue.

"Yes, you definitely are."

"Am not!"

"You couldn't be quiet for ten minutes."

Aden's eyes flashed in defiance, "Watch me!" She declared boldly.

"Fine then." Momentarily satisfied with his work, Kyoya went back to reading leaving Aden in silence.

Shuffling, she laid back. Great, now what was she going to do?

It took forever, but finally after what felt like hours, it occurred to her; she would build a skyscraper out of crackers!

Ha! She'd show him quiet.

With that in mind, she began construction on her masterpiece, hunched over and preparing room on the side-table next to her.

Having not really paid attention to what she was doing, some time later Kyoya lowered his book slightly only to find himself looking at what appeared to be a miniature Eiffel Tower ... made completely out of crackers. Telling himself that at the very least she'd shut her mouth, he shook his head and continued reading.

Aden, on the other hand, was very proud of her architecture. Placing one more piece at the very top, she stepped back to admire her hard work. It was very impressive to say the least, but she was still convinced it needed to be taller.

Turning, she reached a hand deep into the cracker box, grappling for something whole and not terribly crumbly. Successful, Aden straightened with another handful of her building material and returned her attention back to the construction site. Unfortunately she wasn't the only one paying attention to it, for it was about this time that an exceptionally hungry seagull had laid it's small, beady eyes on her artwork.

Perched stealthily atop one of the umbrella's, the bird tipped it's head, beak clacking hungrily and bouncing in place. Noticing, Aden turned with hands on her hips, a dangerous expression fit across her face, "Don't you even think about it dumb bird!" She warned, lips pursed. Seeing it was not wanted, the seagull squawked loudly and with wings spread, took off in the opposite direction. Convinced it had gone, Aden put the creature out of her mind.

The seagull on the other hand, was not ready to give up. Wheeling about in mid-air, it dove, sleek pale head pointed right for Aden's hard-work.

On tip-toe, Aden readied herself to place one last piece at the top, "Almost ... there!" She whispered excitedly, arm extending carefully. Unfortunately the cracker never made it.

Like a speeding bullet, the gull launched itself for her outstretched hand, tearing the food from her fingers with ease and rising back into the air with the cracker clamped tight in it's bright mouth. Surprised and now unbalanced, Aden recoiled, hands flailing helplessly as if she were attempting to take flight herself. Luckily she managed to still herself, though not before her left wrist came in contact with her tower.

And just like that the entire structure came tumbling down.

Blinking, she gawked, disbelieving in her terrible luck while the gluttonous gull proceeded to swallow it's prize without a care.

Feeling anger make a reappearance, Aden's fingers clenched tightly, glaring darkly at her tormentor. Forgetting all about being quiet, she puffed out her chest, "DAMN BIRD!" She bellowed so loudly Haruhi woke with a start. Then, without much thought, she hurled herself at the avian thief.

This turned out to be a complete disaster.

Ready to strangle the thing, the girl reached for the feathery lump, rocketing off her heels while what sounded almost like a vicious war cry erupted from her throat. Already on the move, the gull replied with what could be easily interpreted as a laugh and soared away leaving Aden to snatch at nothing but empty air and plummet back to the deck like a rock.

Fortunately for Aden, she landed on a chair, _unfortunately_ Kyoya was already sitting in it.

Dizzy, she put both hands to her head, doing her best to keep everything from spinning.

"I know you're not the brightest person in the world, but I'd have thought even _you_ could figure out what a horrible idea that was." She heard him grumble, obviously not thrilled by the situation.

Finally seeing things clear, Aden studied her position.

Out of all the places she could have landed, it just had to be right on Kyoya, more specifically his lap. It was like she'd plunked herself down at the paws of a dragon, one who's patience was dangerously thinning. And to make matters worse, she'd managed to scatter bits and pieces of cracker just about everywhere! Not only had she just sat on the dragon, she'd also covered him in crumbs. Well this wasn't good, not at all.

Offering a nervous smile, she shrugged innocently, "Oops?"

"Yeah, oops."

Okay, so he was right, in her haste the thought that cannon balling toward a bird might end badly never even crossed her mind. Not to mention, despite being rather small, Aden was a bony girl, not exactly the most pain free of things to fall out of the sky and onto one's legs.

Spotting flecks of cracker on his head, she cleared her throat, "You've got some- here, I'll get it." She mumbled awkwardly. Hurriedly she brushed the bits from his dark hair accidentally ruffling it into a more comical position, which at any other time would have made her laugh.

"Gee, thanks. Now, would you mind getting up? You're sitting on my hands." Kyoya huffed, nose to nose with the clumsy culprit. Realizing that she was indeed pinning him in place, Aden suddenly leaped into the air and back onto the ground worried he might try to bite her if she didn't move fast enough. From somewhere behind her she could pick up the sound of Haruhi trying desperately not to laugh.

Watching Kyoya recover, Aden found herself relieved to see she hadn't broken him in any way. Er, not because she cared of course, because that would be stupid ...

Deciding it would be in her best interest not to stick around for too much longer, Aden picked his book of the ground, set it on the end table and took a step back.

"You know, that fall really tuckered me out, I think I'm gonna go take a nap now," She declared stupidly, "Night!"

And with that she was gone.

Privately Kyoya was estimating what a long trip this was going to feel like.

Long...

... Very long.

* * *

**Pfft. Kecchhh. Techhh. It took me that long just to produce THAT?**  
**Yeah, pretty much.**

**And on that note, I think I'll add something into my profile so those who care can check out how far I am into the nearest chapter. It might help remind me. -shrug-  
**

**(No character commentary today, I'm too sick and cold to put any more effort in. I'm thinking it shows.)**


End file.
